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 Read More >

Click HERE  for an audio recording of this D'var Torah Where do we face in our holy space? A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Vayakhel-Pekudei By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg “Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Alice might have approved of the Talmud, which has conversations among the sages on every page. But she might have been disappointed that there are not very many pictures. There is, however, an evocative picture inspired by a verse from this week’s Torah portion, found in printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud in Rashbam’s commentary to Tractate Bava Batra 99a, that carries some relevance for us as Read More >

Click HERE   for an audio recording of this D'var Torah The Golden Calf: Not a Tantrum, but a Meltdown A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tissa and Shabbat Parah By Rabbi Katy Allen ('05) Perhaps the golden calf was inevitable, and perhaps even necessary. Egel ha’masekhah, the molten calf (Ex. 32:4), the meltdown– the internal or external loss of control stemming from demands stress over-stimulation disruption or overwhelming emotions. Not a tantrum. Not a tantrum but the breaking down that leads to breaking open. G!d demanded so much, and all at once and in no uncertain terms. Moses seemingly disappeared just when everyone’s lives were being overwhelmingly disrupted stimulated changed irrevocably. Has it ever happened to you? Hamasekhah hanesukhah the veil that is spread over all the nations Read More >

Click HERE  for an audio recording of this D'var Torah Remembering and Turning Things Upside-Down: Shabbat Zakhor and Purim A D’var Torah for Parashat Tetzaveh, Shabbat Zakhor, and Purim By Rabbi Rena Kieval ('06)                          “There is a certain people, scattered and separate from the peoples in all the provinces of your realm, and their rules are different from those of any other people… It is not in your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them. If it please your Majesty, let an edict be drawn for their destruction…” (Esther 3: 8,9) Every Purim, these words of Haman in Megillat Esther send chills down my spine. The words are ancient, yet they are all too familiar. We recognize the anti-Jewish tropes, the intolerance of Read More >