Parashat Ha’azinu – 5785
September 30, 2024
Rabbi Greg Schindler (’09)
Calling G-d “The Rock” seems such a familiar expression that you might expect to see it a lot in the Torah. But it is not until this week, in Parashat Ha’azinu – at almost the end of the Torah – that we first hear G-d referred to as “The Rock”:
Parshiyot Nitzavim-Vayelekh 5784
September 23, 2024
Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR '15)
What does it mean to “choose life”?
Parashat Ki Tavo 5784
September 16, 2024
Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan ('20)
Parashat Ki Tavo, which we read this week, outlines a series of blessings contingent upon following God’s commandments and a series of curses for disobedience. This serves as a warning of what to expect upon entering the Promised Land.
Parashat Ki Teitzei 5784
September 9, 2024
Rabbi Matthew Goldstone
Our parashah this week opens with a somewhat disturbing series on scenarios – a man takes a captured woman and makes her his wife, a man with two wives tries to favor the child of his preferred wife, and a rebellious son is killed for not listening to his parents. Rashi, based on Midrash Tanhuma, explains that this sequence is interconnected – forcing this woman to be his wife will lead to hatred and attempting to disinherit her son, leading to a rebellious child.
Parashat Shoftim 5784
September 4, 2024
Rabbi Rob Scheinberg
All rabbis have their favorite traditional Jewish texts that they seek to teach at every opportunity. One of my favorites is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 34a, which addresses when worshippers should bow when reciting the Amidah, the standing prayer that is the centerpiece of every Jewish worship service. The passage begins by noting an early tradition that a person should bow four times during the Amidah: at the beginning and conclusion of the first blessing (Avot), and at the beginning and conclusion of the blessing of Thanksgiving (Modim) which is the Amidah’s next-to-last blessing. If someone seeks to bow more often than this, they should be instructed not to; four times is enough. Then, however, some later scholars (Amoraim) express that they learned the tradition slightly differently. The above scheme of bowing four times during the Amidah is specifically for ordinary people. However, a High Priest should bow at the end of each blessing — or, according...
