Search results for: Parashat Ekev

By Boaz Marmon At first glance, we probably think of Parashat Bo, as a "middle." It tells the middle of the Exodus story, beginning in the middle of the ten plagues and ending in the middle of the escape from Egypt. Perhaps, on second thought, it's a tale of "ends": the end of the plagues, Read More >

Parashat Bemidbar: Tribalism or Multitribalism? Rabbi Jill Hammer The first parashah in the Book of Numbers (or in Hebrew Bemidbar) makes a significant point of listing the census numbers of each tribe (adult males able to go to war) as well as the leaders of each tribe (hence the moniker Book of Numbers). The parashah Read More >

The Bitter and the Sweet A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemini By Rabbi Greg Schindler ('09) Most of us are familiar with the concept of a hyperlink. Case in point: hyperlink. When you click on a hyperlink, you begin a journey connecting the idea on the page to a related concept. Quite the innovation, right? Yes, indeed. The hyperlinks embedded in the Read More >

By Peggy de Prophetis This D'var Torah is dedicated to Rabbi Stephen Grundfast, an AJR alumnus, who taught me Torah trope and set me on this path. 'You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and petals shall be Read More >

Parashat Aharei Mot/Kedoshim: The Lingering Pain of Loss By Eleanor Pearlman The beginning of the parashah (Torah portion) of Aharei Mot/Kedoshim begins with the words, Vay'hi aharei mot (After the death) - in reference to Nadav and Avihu, two of the sons of Aaron. These deaths occurred in Parashat Shemini, three parshiot before our current Read More >

Standing at Sinai By Rabbi Michael G. Kohn For me, the festival of Shavuot is a riddle shrouded in mystery, wrapped in an enigma. Although it is fixed in our modern calendars as the sixth day of Sivan, no such date appears anywhere in the Torah. In parashat Pinhas, where the additional sacrifices for each Read More >

Parashat Vayikra By Susan Elkodsi Parashat Vayikra begins, "And the Lord called to Moses from the Tent of meeting," and told him to speak to the people about presenting offerings to God. Given its explicit and detailed instructions for these sacrifices, the book of Vayikra can be considered a handbook for how to be a Read More >

Parashat Tetzaveh: The Garments of the High Priest by Rabbi Jill Hammer Parashat Tetzaveh teaches us about the garments of the high priest who was to serve in the mishkan, the sanctuary: "These are the vestments they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a coat, a turban, and a sash." (Exodus 28:4) There Read More >

As I prepared to write a D’var Torah for parashat Vayehi – with my Tanakh, my research notes and my computer open in front of me, my thoughts kept going to the date later in the week of the yahrzeit of my husband, Rabbi Joseph H. Wise z”l. I looked it up and parashat Vayehi was read on the Shabbat following his passing which seemed to further connect the parashah and the yahrzeit.

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D'var Torah Making Space A D'var Torah for Parashat Pekudei By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein ('16) Some weeks feel like there is just so much ungodliness in the world; it’s hard to know where to even begin shining the light of Torah. I believe in the power of Torah, of Read More >