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25 09, 2008

Parashat Nitzavim

By ahsilver|2008-09-25T08:07:41-04:00September 25, 2008|

By Steve Altarescu

At the beginning of parashat Nitzavim, Moses asks each one of the Jewish people to enter into the covenant with God. He tells them that Judaism is not just for the knowledgeable ones or the priestly classes but for each person including “the woodchopper to the water drawer.” (Deuteronomy 29:10) The oration offered is not only to those who were standing with Moses when he spoke but . . .” to those who are not here with us today.” (Deut. 29:14) Rashi says this refers to generations in the future, as every Jew living at that time was already mentioned in a prior verse.

This is a very fitting scenario for a few days before Rosh Hashanah when we will be gathered as congregations and each of us will be asked to turn back and follow what is right and good. Each person will have his or her own individual Read More >

17 09, 2008

Parashat Ki Tavo

By ahsilver|2008-09-17T13:20:15-04:00September 17, 2008|

By Rabbi Daniel Horwitz

There is a famous Jewish legend which has bothered me from the first time I heard it, when I was about 8 or 9 years old. According to this legend, the foundation for the song introducing Shabbat, Shalom Aleikhem, there are two malakhei ha-sharet, ministering angels, one good and one bad, who accompany a Jew when coming home on Shabbat eve. When the Jew arrives home, if Shabbat candles are set, the table prepared, and the house is beautiful for Shabbat, the good angel says: So may it be next Shabbat. And the bad angel, against his will, must say: Amen. And if the opposite is true, the bad angel says: so may it be the next Shabbat. And the good angel, against his will, now must also say: Amen.

I didn’t grow up keeping Shabbat, but that part wasn’t an issue for me. I understood Shabbat was a Read More >

11 09, 2008

Parashat Ki Teitzei

By ahsilver|2008-09-11T10:11:16-04:00September 11, 2008|

The Paradox of Memory
By Rabbi Allen Darnov

It is amusing how Jews curse enemies by reciting the enemy’s name and then adding the phrase in Hebrew (or Yiddish) “may his name be blotted out” We might say something like “…that evil Hitler, may his name be blotted out!…” Amusing, because one cannot rub a name out of existence by making a point of mentioning it.

It seems that the impetus in Jewish life to remember is very strong – even stronger than the mitzvah to forget something evil. The result is a paradox. And the paradox is explicit, as a matter of fact, in Ki Tetze, this week’s Torah portion. On the one hand, the book of Deuteronomy commands us to rub out the memory of Amalek (25:19) much in the way that ancient Pharaohs would rub out the hieroglyph denoting a predecessor’s name, thus extinguishing memory of a forebear. Yet, only Read More >

2 09, 2008

Parashat Shoftim

By ahsilver|2008-09-02T20:29:13-04:00September 2, 2008|

By Halina Rubinstein

The last section of this week’s parashah describes the strange ritual of the eglah `arufah, the ‘broken heifer.’ When a person is found dead in the middle of a field and the killer is not known, the elders of the closest city take a heifer that has yet to be trained to work, break its neck and pray for forgiveness in order to establish their innocence. This is a remarkable expression of communal responsibility. In light of call of the parashah to pursue justice, it is inconceivable that the community would let something like this happen. Yet they were not able to protect and provide for the individual who was killed. Therefore, they consider themselves responsible; they acknowledge their guilt and cleanse themselves of it through this ritual.

I cannot help but relate this to one of the most intense experiences of my life. This past June, my husband, three other Read More >

28 08, 2008

Parashat Re’eh

By ahsilver|2008-08-28T21:36:55-04:00August 28, 2008|

By Maralee Gordon
Shabbat Re’eh is the beginning of Labor Day Weekend this year. Often we view Labor Day as its oxymoron-a day off from labor. But of course, it is meant to call attention to the contributions of workers to our society. The U.S. Department of Labor states:

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Many of our ancestors were involved in the nascent labor movement at the turn of the 20th century, in which they struggled to make sure that those on the edge of poverty were able to work under decent conditions rather than slave away in inhumane circumstances for less than living wages.

Re’eh can help us to understand our responsibility Read More >

19 08, 2008

Parashat Eqev

By ahsilver|2008-08-19T13:34:22-04:00August 19, 2008|

Parashat Eqev – Assembling the Menorah
By Moshe Rudin

As careful readers of the Torah text- both the text given to us at Sinai and its commentary that God reveals to each of us through the unfolding text of our lives- we have been taught to be constantly on the lookout for the unusual turn of phrase or the unexpected word. We have learned that it is from the seemingly out of place language that there emerge tilei tilim – heaps and heaps – of insight and teachings.

One such word emerges from the first pasuq (verse) of this week’s parashah: Eqev. The pasuq reads: It shall be that following upon (eqev) that you listen to these ordinances, that you keep and do them, that HaShem your God will keep for you the Covenant (Brit) and the Lovingkindness which God swore to your ancestors.

Eqev is a term related to Read More >

15 08, 2008

Parashat D’varim

By Doug Alpert|2008-08-15T11:47:56-04:00August 15, 2008|

By Doug Alpert

This week we commence reading the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). In our quest to understand Torah and apply it to our own existence we are naturally prone to see it through the lens of our own experience. Having admitted to this bias in my own interpretation as I study the text, I immediately go to a specific place in my experience, i.e., my place as a parent. At the risk of overstatement, there may not be a greater pedagogical tool than the Book of Devarim. This is particularly true for parents. If you, like me, are prone to skip to the end to see what happens, one of the great lessons for parents is embodied within the idea that arguably our greatest leader, Moshe Rabeinu, is prohibited by G-d from following his children, B’nai Yisrael into the Land of Israel. So, how much more true is it for us, Read More >

15 08, 2008

Parashat Vâ€™etchanan:

By ahsilver|2008-08-15T07:29:57-04:00August 15, 2008|

The Last Lecture
By Sandra Kilstein

The bittersweet stage of the Jewish calendar cycle is reflected in the overtones of Parashat V’etchanan. The feelings of having made it through the Three Weeks of mourning parallels the feeling of relief and the ability to move forward after the defeat of Og and Sichon It is the time of transition from the struggles of the desert to the forward-looking planning involved in settling The Land.

Yet for Moshe, the struggle remains. V’etchanan is the heart-wrenching plea of the ever modest leader of a great nation, a man obsessed with entering The Land. V’etchanan is the language of deepest humility ‘ a beseeching, an imploring request from someone who acknowledges that he may be unworthy, but asks nevertheless. Indeed, the word v’etchanan is related to cheenam, ‘free.’ Moshe asks for a free gift, despite the fact that his deeds don’t merit this reward.

Denied, he returns to his mission Read More >

21 09, 2006

Parashat Ha’azinu

By ahsilver|2006-09-21T13:08:13-04:00September 21, 2006|

By Rabbi Malka Drucker

We wander through life searching for bridges to move us closer to each other and nearer to God. Parashat Ha’azinu shows us how to build bridges between heaven and earth while being, itself, as the last portion of the year, a bridge between the end and the beginning. Its very form, a song, opens the heart to receive its urgent message of hope and direction; as we reach the inevitable end of the
book, its passion inspires and propels us to begin the study
again.

The portion opens with Moses declaring, ‘Listen heaven! I will speak! Earth! Hear the words of my mouth! (Deut. 32:1). Like a dying father who warns his children that he no longer will guide, scold, or defend them, Moses calls upon heaven and earth to be witnesses: Human beings are inclined to do better when we know we Read More >

8 09, 2006

Parshat Nitzavim/VaYelekh

By Bruce Alpert|2006-09-08T13:25:44-04:00September 8, 2006|

By Bruce Alpert

A number of years ago, I was part of a synagogue committee that evaluated the then new, gender-neutral edition of the Reform movement’s Gates of Prayer. The new siddur offered revised versions of several of the older book’s Kabbalat Shabbat services. One change ‘ having nothing to do with gender issues ‘ occured on the first page of the first service. Where the older version read ‘May God bless us with Shabbat joy, May God bless us with Shabbat holiness, May God bless us with Shabbat peace,’ the new version read ‘May we be blessed with Shabbat joy, May we be blessed with Shabbat peace, May we be blessed with Shabbat light.’

So focused was I on the siddur’s many other linguistic innovations that, at the time, I barely did more than note this change. Since then, however, I have come to think of this as Read More >

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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