Divrei Torah Archives | Page 33 of 78 | Academy for Jewish Religion

31 03, 2016

Parashat Shemini–Shabbat Parah

By ahsilver|2016-03-31T13:19:29-04:00March 31, 2016|

Shabbat Parah — Holy cow!!

This Shabbat is one of the four specially designated Shabbatot leading up to Passover. They are all exemplified by a special Torah reading that gets added to the reading for the particular Shabbat, and they all have special haftarot — readings from the prophetic books. This week is the strangest of all, Shabbat Parah, the Shabbat of the red heifer. Or, as one of my teachers called it, “Holy Cow Shabbat!” We will read the standard Torah reading for the week, in this case the reading in the book of Leviticus called Shemini, and then we will read from the book of Numbers, the section that outlines the ritual of choosing, slaughtering, and burning a pure red heifer, one that has never worn a yoke on its neck.

The convoluted ritual of the sacrifice of this cow is part of the process of purification leading up to Passover, to Read More >

25 03, 2016

Parashat Tzav

By ahsilver|2016-03-25T11:02:53-04:00March 25, 2016|

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

This week’s parashah continues the extensive discussion of the different sacrifies that God commanded the Israelites, and it is therefore not surprising that sacrifices make an appearance in the haftarah chosen for Parashat Tzav. The haftarah contains a much discussed verse from Jeremiah that seems to imply that the Children of Israel were not originally commanded to offer sacrifices.

“For on the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Jeremiah 7:22)

A similar sentiment can be found in Amos:

“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?” (Amos 5:25)

Biblical commentators and scholars have been puzzled by the claim that the Children of Israel were not commanded to offer sacrifies while in Read More >

18 03, 2016

Parashat Vayikra

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2016-03-18T08:13:00-04:00March 18, 2016|

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

With many of us glued to the news at a time when we are trying to decide who should be our next leader, it may come as a surprise that this week’s Torah portion, which deals with animal and meal offerings, has what to teach us about leadership qualities.

In chapter 4 of Vayikra the Torah speaks of four individuals or groups who if they sin unintentionally are to bring a hatat (sin) offering. Each of the offerings is described in detail and is somewhat different from the others. The four categories, in accordance with rabbinic tradition, are as follows: the high priest (vv. 3-12), the Sanhedrin (high court) (vv. 13-21), the ruler or king (vv. 22-26), and the individual Israelite (vv. 27-35). Interestingly, three of the categories are introduced by the word im, which means “if” — i.e., if the individual or group will sin, then such and such Read More >

10 03, 2016

Parashat Pekudei

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2016-03-10T09:18:30-05:00March 10, 2016|

Parashat Pekudei: These are the Redemptions

by Rabbi Jill Hammer

There is a way that Parashat Pekudei brings the Exodus to its conclusion. At the end of Genesis, when Joseph is dying, he promises his family: pakod yifkod, God will surely take note of you. At the beginning of the book of Exodus the people cry out for God’s intervention, and God promises to redeem them: pakod pakadti, I will surely remember them. Now, at the end of the book of Exodus, we hear eileh pekudei hamishkan, mishkan ha’edut, asher pukad al pi Moshe: “these are the records/rememberings of the sanctuary, the mishkan of witnessing, that were recorded at Moshe’s command.” The verb pakad repeats twice, as if to remind us that God has now remembered the people. The promise God made to Moshe has been fulfilled.

In what way is the sanctuary a remembrance, a redemption? If Read More >

3 03, 2016

Parashat Vayakhel-Shekalim

By Rabbi Len Levin|2016-03-03T23:22:38-05:00March 3, 2016|

What Is Our Present Day Poll Tax?
A Dvar Torah for Shekalim

by Rabbi Len Levin

“When you take a census of the Israelite people, each shall pay the Lord a ransom for himself on being enrolled — a half shekel by the sanctuary weight…” (Ex. 30:12-13)

“A human being stamps a series of coins with the same stamp and they all turn out identical. Not so the Supreme Sovereign, who stamps out all human beings with the stamp of the first human being, yet every one is unique.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5)

“Whoever performs a single mitzvah will receive benefit and long life and will inherit the land.”

(Mishnah Kiddushin 1:10)

*****

We read the special portion of Shekalim at the start of the month of Adar. This is in commemoration of an ancient practice, when the shekel-tax was collected at the approach of the new fiscal year for the ritual needs and upkeep of the Temple.

The shekel-tax has its Read More >

25 02, 2016

Parashat Ki Tissa

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2016-02-25T08:43:45-05:00February 25, 2016|

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

“And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made…”
(from The Sounds of Silence by Paul Simon)

In Parashat Ki Tissa, we read about the golden calf, that surrogate object of worship which the Israelites create as they give up on waiting for Moses, who has yet to return from his mountaintop sojourn with God.

For modern readers of the Torah, Moses departed for his Divine rendezvous three Torah portions ago. In all that time the Israelites have been without their leader, while we’ve read about the many laws and instructions being transmitted from God to Moses. If that seems like a long time to us, we can only imagine what it must have felt like for our ancestors — here they are out in the middle of nowhere, having left Egypt with the promise of a future in a homeland that has yet to be conquered. Since Read More >

18 02, 2016

Parashat Tetzaveh

By ahsilver|2016-02-18T21:23:18-05:00February 18, 2016|

by Hazzan Marcia Lane

Just as last week’s parashah described in great detail the making of the mishkan — the Tabernacle — this week’s Torah portion describes in great detail the design and fabrication of the vestments for Aaron, who was to become the High Priest, and for his sons, who would help him to perform the rituals of the priesthood in the Tabernacle. Each of the elements of the vestments functions in a manner that is parallel to the function of the Tabernacle itself; each is a reminder of holiness. In the case of the building of the Tabernacle, Moses is told:

V’asu li mikdash v’shakhanti b’tokham. They shall make for Me a sanctuary and I shall dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

So the purpose of the sanctuary is for the Israelites to create a sacred space in order that God’s presence might reside among the people. When it comes to the clothing, the Read More >

12 02, 2016

Parashat Terumah

By ahsilver|2016-02-12T10:43:14-05:00February 12, 2016|

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

Almost all of this week’s parashah is devoted to a detailed description of different aspects of the building of the mishkan, the tabernacle–which materials are to be used, how much of each, and how they are to be put together. At the beginning of the parashah, before we read all of these detailed descriptions, there is a verse which addresses the larger question of the purpose of the mishkan.

“Let them make Me a Sanctuary (mikdash) and I shall dwell (ve-shakhanti) among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

This short verse contains a powerful theological statement, God declares that he will dwell in this sanctuary. Even within the Bible questions were raised about this idea. When King Solomon finished dedicating the Temple he recited a prayer that included the following:

“Does God truly dwell on earth? Even the heavens to their utmost reaches cannot contain You, how much less this house that I have built?” (I Kings Read More >

4 02, 2016

Parashat Mishpatim

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2016-02-04T14:42:53-05:00February 4, 2016|

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

One of my favorite derashot (homiletical interpretations) is one that is found in this week’s Torah portion in connection with the mitzvah of lending money to those in need.

The Torah writes (Ex. 22:24) — “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them.” To be sure, the wording of the Torah, using the conjunction im (im kesef talveh et ami…), which usually means “if,” suggests that lending money to the poor is optional and not a mitzvah (religious obligation) per se. But the Rabbis interpreted this im to mean “when” rather than “if” (see Mekhilta ad loc.; see also Rashi on this verse). Thus they read it as if it says, “When you lend money…do not act towards the recipient as a creditor who charges interest.” Besides not charging interest, a Biblical prohibition, Read More >

3 02, 2016

Parashat Yitro

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2016-02-03T14:10:46-05:00February 3, 2016|

Parashat Yitro: What Makes the Thunder?

I once heard physicist Karen Barad explain how lightning happens. She showed us how charged particles on the ground and oppositely charged particles in the sky find their way to one another, reacting to produce a flash of lightning. The method by which the particles find one another across such a distance cannot be explained completely by contemporary science. Lightning and thunder are still a mystery. So, too, the thunder and lightning in Parashat Yitro present a mystery.

The Torah is given in the wilderness in the context of a supernatural thunderstorm. The thunder on Mount Sinai is one of the most memorable elements of revelation:

On the third day, as dawn broke, there was thunder and lightning, and thick cloud upon the mountain…Now Mount Sinai was entirely smoke, for YHWH had come down upon it in fire. The smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the 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.

Programs of Study

Learn more about…

Programs of Study

Learn more about…

Divrei Torah

ABOUT

LIBRARY

JOIN US

PROGRAMS OF STUDY