The AJR Center for Judaism and Science has an annual competition for the best student D’var Torah infused with science. Click here to view the entries that have won our לדעת חכמה (Lada’at Hokhmah) Award.
Parashat Vayikra – 5785
March 31, 2025
Rena Kieval
Receiving the Call A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra By Rabbi Rena Kieval (AJR ’06) It begins with a call. We are at the center of the Torah, the Book of Leviticus, and Moshe has just overseen the elaborate construction of the mishkan. Now that the sanctuary is complete, God will relay to Moshe and to the kohanim, in painstaking detail, the rituals and rules to be practiced in that sacred space. But first, there is a call to Moshe, a call which gives this book of the Torah and this parashah their name, Vayikra. Why the call? What does it mean to us to be called? Many of us have felt called to serve, to carry out a specific role, or called more generally to be our best selves. Who, or what, calls us, and how do we receive that call? Two curious features in the opening verse of our parashah help us explore these questions. The first verse of our parashah contains...
Parashat Vayikra 5784
March 18, 2024
Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR '15)
When I began studying Hebrew grammar with my friend Rabbi Amanda Brodie, one of the first things I learned about was the vav ha-hippukh (flipped), also called “the consecutive vav” or “narrative vav.” Normally, this letter serves as a prefix meaning “and,” “but” and sometimes “or,” and the word following is in the imperfect tense (an uncompleted action). But when this letter has a patah vowel (straight line) and the next letter has a dagesh (dot) inside, it “flips” and translates to something like, “and then….” basically suggesting a continuation of the narrative, and a perfect (completed) action.
Parashat Vayikra 5783
March 20, 2023
Click here for an audio recording of this D’var Torah Keeping focus on sacred connections A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra by Rabbi Steven Altarescu (’14) The Book of Vayikra begins where Exodus leaves off. The Israelites have finished building the Mishkan and God has shown approval through the appearance of a cloud of God’s Presence. Exodus thus ends triumphantly with a description of the work being finished; “Now the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of YHVH filled the Mishkan” (Exodus 40:34) We are then told that Moses: “was not able to come into the Tent of Meeting for the cloud was dwelling on it and the Presence of YHVH filled the Mishkan.” (Exodus 40:35) Vayikra begins with God calling out to Moses: “YHVH called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting…” (Leviticus 1:1) The building of the Mishkan and the blessing of God’s presence add a sense of completion to a long process of becoming a nation and receiving...
Parashat Vayikra 5782
March 10, 2022
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah The Covenant of Salt, the Salt of Your Covenant A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra By Rabbi Katy Allen (’05) וְכׇל־קׇרְבַּ֣ן מִנְחָתְךָ֮ בַּמֶּ֣לַח תִּמְלָח֒ וְלֹ֣א תַשְׁבִּ֗ית מֶ֚לַח בְּרִ֣ית אֱ-לֹהֶ֔יךָ מֵעַ֖ל מִנְחָתֶ֑ךָ עַ֥ל כׇּל־קׇרְבָּנְךָ֖ תַּקְרִ֥יב מֶֽלַח: You shall season your every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with G!d; with all your offerings you must offer salt. —Leviticus 2:13 Waves— lapping gently against warm sand, crashing ferociously against rocky crags, mixing with sweet water in sheltered estuaries, cresting endlessly across vast open oceans— a constant reminder of the everlasting brit melah, covenant of salt. (Num. 18:19) Ancient is this covenant, from Creation, (Rashi Lev. 2:13) when G!d decreed that salt would be offered on the altar with the sacrifices— salt, derived from the sea, perhaps to enhance the taste, perhaps to remember Creation,...
Parshat Vayikra 5781
March 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...
