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.
Parshiyot Hukkat-Balak – 5786
June 25, 2026
Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson
A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Hukkat-Balak By Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson (2023) The Strangest Mitzvah What do you think is the strangest commandment in the entire Torah? There’s some pretty stiff competition. Is it the prohibition on combining wool and linen? The insistence that it’s fine to eat cows and goats but not pigs? The sandal and spitting ritual that accompanies a brother’s refusal to marry his widowed sister-in-law? The prohibition against rounding the corners of one’s beard? While some commandments are morally challenging, others are intellectually puzzling, making them difficult to explain, much less defend against criticism. Parashat Hukkat opens with a novel Israelite ritual: in order to prepare a special liquid that will be used to ritually purify individuals contaminated by contact with a human corpse, an unblemished red heifer must be slaughtered outside the camp and (after some priestly blood-sprinkling) completely burnt, together with cedar, hyssop, and crimson dye. Although this ritual was...
Parashat Hukkat – 5786
June 25, 2026
Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson
In this week’s D’var Torah, Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson offers a rationale, not for the puzzling ritual of the red heifer, but for why we should keep asking about it
Parashat Korah – 5786
June 16, 2026
Rabbi Dorit Edut
A D’var Torah for Parashat Korah By Rabbi Dorit Edut (AJR 2006) “Jewish tradition cherishes free speech. ‘When a person refrains from speech, the ideas die, the soul stops, and the senses deteriorate,’ said Moses ibn Ezra, insisting on respect for honest differences of opinion. (Shirat Yisrael, 12c). If one reads the classic texts of the rabbinic era, the Mishnah and the Gemara, every page brims with the arguments both of the majority and of those who dissented from them, recognizing that each reflected aspects of God’s truth. ‘These and these are the words of God,’ the Talmud observes about these disputes (Eruvin 13b).” Yet while Jewish law encourages robust debate and respectful dialogue, it strictly prohibits malicious speech, such as gossip, public shaming, and slander. The strongest moral disapproval is expressed in Jewish teachings of slander in all its forms. The prohibition against going around as a talebearer is...
Parashat Shelah – 5786
June 9, 2026
Rabbi Rachel Posner
Remembering as an Act of Imagination A D’var Torah for Parashat Shelah By Rabbi Dr. Rachel Posner This week I met with my psychotherapy client, Melanie (not her real name), who is preparing to give birth for the first time. At her recent baby shower, friends and relatives could not resist sharing their own birth stories. Each woman hoped to help prepare Melanie for what lay ahead. Instead, their stories multiplied her anxiety. “I’m scared,” she told me, “because I’m not really in control. I don’t know what will happen, or what it will really feel like.” This is, of course, a completely natural response to a completely natural situation. Women give birth every day – but for Melanie, it is not every day. It is the most consequential day of her life so far. I asked her to remember that she has everything she needs to navigate what’s coming,...
Parashat Beha’alotekha – 5786
June 2, 2026
Rabbi Anat Katzir
A Reflection on Symbols, Service, and the Future of Am Yisrael A D’var Torah for Parashat Beha’alotekha By Rabbi Anat Katzir Parashat Beha’alotekha opens with the image of one of the most enduring symbols of the Jewish people: דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃ “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you raise up the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the menorah.” (Numbers 8:2) The menorah becomes more than a ritual object. It is a symbol of continuity, responsibility, and resilience of Am Yisrael. Throughout Jewish history, the menorah has represented the spiritual light of the Jewish people. Today, it is also the emblem of the modern State of Israel, reminding us that Jewish sovereignty must be rooted not only in power, but in moral purpose. The menorah symbolizes a Judaism that radiates outward. The light was...
