Vayikra Archives | Page 3 of 14 | Academy for Jewish Religion

25 03, 2021

Parashat Tzav 5781

By Rabbi Michael Rothbaum|2022-07-29T11:24:21-04:00March 25, 2021|

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’ver Torah for Parashat Tzav
By Rabbi Michael Rothbaum (’06)

At my shul, there are indications that we’re still in “Covid times.” With cameras and control panels, the sanctuary looks like a recording studio. We still have hand sanitizer dispensers all over the building. And, in the corner, there’s a cart of siddurim with a sign instructing people not to touch them.

This last one, of course, makes no sense. The cart is from a year ago. We swiped it from the library — much to the chagrin of the shul librarian — and put it in the sanctuary. At the time, we asked people who were still coming into the building to leave used siddurim on the cart, where we would leave them for two weeks, until they were safe to use again.

Remember those early days of Covid? When we afraid to touch anything?

Since then, we’ve learned a lot Read More >

19 03, 2021

Parshat Vayikra 5781

By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein|2022-07-29T11:24:21-04:00March 19, 2021|

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

Sacrifices, Disappointment, and Hope
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra
By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein (’16)

Good news: I have been vaccinated! Perhaps I should make an offering to God in gratitude. What might that look like?

This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayikra, details several types of sacrifices that will be brought into the freshly-built Mishkan: the olah, or burnt offering; the shelamim, or peace/wholeness offering; five variations of minha offerings, ways to give meal for those who cannot afford the animals of the other offerings; the hattat, or sin offering, with variations depending on the type of sin and sinner; and lastly the asham, or guilt-offering for trespass specifically against God. While most of these give at least some indication of why a person might bring them, the olah and the minha offerings seem to be “just ‘cuz”. So, in feeling the gratitude Read More >

15 05, 2020

Parashat Behar / Behukkotai 5780

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:27-04:00May 15, 2020|

Lessons of the Sabbatical for a Time of Pandemic
A D’var Torah for Parashat Bahar / Behukkotai
By Rabbi Len Levin

“Six years you may sow your field…and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the Lord…You may eat whatever the land will produce during its sabbath.” (Leviticus 25:3–6)

What is the proper balance of work and rest in the Bible? Can the institutions of the Sabbath and the sabbatical year inspire us with ideas for dealing with the disruption of that balance in the current health crisis?

In the biblical creation story, man and woman were originally put in a garden where they could live off the fruit of the trees that grew naturally. By their sin, they were expelled from this paradise into the real world where people must earn bread by the sweat of their brows ( Read More >

15 05, 2020

Parashiyot Behar-Behukotai 5780

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:27-04:00May 15, 2020|

Lessons of the Sabbatical for a Time of Pandemic
A D’var Torah for Parashat Bahar / Behukkotai
By Rabbi Len Levin

“Six years you may sow your field…and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the Lord…You may eat whatever the land will produce during its sabbath.” (Leviticus 25:3–6)

What is the proper balance of work and rest in the Bible? Can the institutions of the Sabbath and the sabbatical year inspire us with ideas for dealing with the disruption of that balance in the current health crisis?

In the biblical creation story, man and woman were originally put in a garden where they could live off the fruit of the trees that grew naturally. By their sin, they were expelled from this paradise into the real world where people must earn bread by the sweat of their brows ( Read More >

8 05, 2020

Parashat Emor 5780

By Bruce Alpert|2022-07-29T11:24:27-04:00May 8, 2020|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Emor
By Rabbi Bruce Alpert (AJR ’11)

A well-known midrash tells of Rabbi Yehoshua bemoaning the destruction of the Temple – “the place that atoned for Israel’s sins” – to his master, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Yohanan comforts his disciple with the observation that “we have another means of gaining atonement: through deeds of loving kindness, as it is written (Hosea 6:6) ‘I desire deeds of loving kindness, not sacrifice.’” (Avot d’Rabbi Natan 4:5)

Comforting as this midrash might be, it reduces the Temple to a single function: atoning for sin. Yet were this really its primary purpose, why are prayers for the Temple’s restoration so ubiquitous in our liturgy? As one who has ever uttered those prayers with discomfort, I think we need to look more deeply for the answer.

For many of us, our discomfort with the idea of the restoration of the Temple goes beyond our reticence about Read More >

1 05, 2020

Parashat Aharei Mot Kedoshim

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2022-07-29T11:24:28-04:00May 1, 2020|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Aharei Mot Kedoshim
By Cantor Sandy Horowitz (’14)

Parashat Kedoshim consists of a series of commandments which God wants Moses to convey to the Israelite people. As is God’s wont, God has a lot to say as the verses in this parashah jump from one topic to another– keep My sabbaths; when you reap your harvest, leave the corners of your field for the poor and stranger; do not curse the deaf; do not cross-breed your cattle; and so on. These are a few of the laws which appear just in the first two aliyot of the Torah reading. Imagine how the Israelites might have listened to this series of commandments while trying to remember it all; it must have felt overwhelming, and perhaps a bit confusing. What harvest? What stranger?

Then we arrive at the beginning of the third aliyah: “When you come into the land and plant Read More >

24 04, 2020

Parashat Tazria Metzora 5780

By Rabbi Irwin Huberman|2022-07-29T11:24:28-04:00April 24, 2020|

The Torah and Social Distancing
A D’var Torah for Parashat Tazria Metzora
By Rabbi Irwin Huberman (’10)

Perhaps there has never been a better time to embrace — with open arms — a section of the Torah, which most years we tend to turn away from.

The double portion of Tazria-Metzora speaks about those bodily conditions that often make us socially and physically uncomfortable: Rashes, skin diseases, bodily purification and leprosy, to name a few.

But isn’t it remarkable, how, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this week’s Parashah comes to life probably in a way it never has in our lifetime?

During this unprecedented time, we can’t help but marvel at how our tradition appeared concerned with public health, long before the field of medicine became a sophisticated practice.

Indeed, our tradition recognizes the importance of testing, treatment, quarantine, evaluation and re-integration as part of a communal approach to healing.

During this time of quarantine and social distancing, the Read More >

17 04, 2020

Parashat Shemini 5780

By Rabbi David Evan Markus|2022-07-29T11:24:28-04:00April 17, 2020|

“Silent” Tribute to the Dead of Covid-19
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi David Markus

Spiritually speaking, what should we say amidst 120,000 covid-19 deaths? Surely there must be something we should say, some right response – right?

If these questions land a gut punch, if they rouse gnawing emptiness, if they jumble emotions and singe the soul, then we might just barely begin to imagine Aaron in this week’s paresha (Shemini). How could the High Priest of Israel lose his sons Nadav and Avihu to divine fire, and then respond with silence – vayidom Aharon (Leviticus 10:3)?

This timely question, about one of Torah’s most difficult texts, touches our core both as individuals and as spiritual leaders – especially now.

But let’s be clear: our question’s covid-19 context isn’t so unusual in a global sense. According to the United Nations, over 165,000 people die every day from all causes (e.g. age, illnesses both acute and Read More >

3 04, 2020

Parashat Tzav 5780

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2022-07-29T11:24:28-04:00April 3, 2020|

An Offering of the heart
A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

Parashat Tzav deals with the offerings that the priests and the people made in the Tabernacle for the purposes of gratitude, atonement, and daily celebration. These offerings included the olah (an offering entirely burnt), the minhah or meal-offering, the zevah shelamim—a celebratory offering where part was given to God and people ate the rest—and the hatat and asham, two kinds of sin offerings. This week, my attention was particularly drawn to the olah, the offering that is completely burned. I want to explore three ways the olah might be relevant to us at this moment.

First, to me, the olah offering, an offering that is entirely given over, speaks to the powerful offerings that doctors, nurses, midwives, EMTs, and other medical workers are making right now as they serve those who are ill even at risk to themselves. This offering speaks, to me, of the Read More >

26 03, 2020

Parashat Vayikra 5780

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:28-04:00March 26, 2020|

The Teachings of Leviticus for This Present Moment
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra
By Rabbi Len Levin

This week we begin reading the book of Leviticus. The interpretation I offer here has benefited from the perspectives of the contemporary scholars Mary Douglas (Purity and Danger) and Jacob Milgrom (The Anchor Bible: Leviticus), both of whom have enriched my understanding of the author’s complex outlook.

The underlying unity of the book’s diverse themes can be seen in the theme of purification—purification through ritual (especially sacrifices—chapters 1–10 and dietary laws—chapter 11), purification through medical diagnosis and quarantine (the laws of leprosy and family purity—chapters 12–15), and purification through ethical living and social justice (the teaching of “love your neighbor” (Lev. 19:18) and the Sabbatical / Jubilee years—chapter 25). In the book’s coda (chapter 26), the author promises peace and prosperity if these teachings are taken to heart in the life of 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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