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Parashat Acharei Mot – 5779

Yom Kippur Asks “Answers” – Not Just “Afflictions”
A D’var Torah for Parashat Acharei Mot
By Rabbi David Markus

This week’s parashah (Acharei Mot) brings Torah’s first mention of Yom Kippur (#sorry), so each year this parashah starts me thinking about the High Holy Days (#notsorry).

Each year, I recall how three words in this parashah once drove me from Judaism. So each year, I renew my commitment to wrestle these words that challenge me.

This parashah’s three challenging words are: “afflict your souls.”

Torah “sets a law for all time that [on Yom Kippur] you will afflict your souls (t’anu et nafshoteikhem) and do no work” (Lev. 16:29). That day is to be a “complete shabbat (shabbat shabbaton) [on which] you will afflict your souls (v’initem et nafshoteikhem)” (Lev. 16:31). For Yom Kippur, one mention of “afflict” didn’t suffice: Torah had to say it twice.

From “afflict your souls” evolved Yom Kippur’s fasting, abstinence, and Read More >

By Rabbi David Evan Markus|2022-07-29T11:24:35-04:00May 1, 2019|

Last Days of Pesah – 5779

A D’var Torah for the last days of Pesah
By Rabbi Heidi Hoover (’11)

We are coming now to the end of Passover, our joyful spring holiday. At our seders, we asked questions, we learned, we discussed how we were slaves in the land of Egypt, and how we were freed from that degradation and pain by the strong hand and outstretched arm of God, who took us to be God’s people, and who we continue to acknowledge as our God. It is a journey from slavery to freedom, from sadness and despair to rejoicing.

On the last day of Passover, we traditionally read about the crossing of the Reed Sea and the song of celebration the Israelites and Moses sang on the other side. Some Jews, particularly among the Hasidim, have a tradition of pouring water on the floor and singing and dancing to remember the crossing of the Read More >

By Rabbi Heidi Hoover|2022-07-29T11:24:35-04:00April 25, 2019|

First Days of Pesah – 5779

Hametz of the Soul: The Yeast Within

A D’var Torah for the first days of Pesah
By Rabbi Irwin Huberman (’10)

“And what prevents us from performing Your will? It is the yeast in the dough.” Rabbi Alexandri

The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), one of our greatest rabbis, provided an important answer to a question which each of us may ask from time to time.

“Why are we here?”

Indeed, we navigate our lives, apply our God-given talents, interact with others, but ultimately what is the purpose of it all?

The Vilna Gaon considered this question, and suggested that, simply stated, the purpose of life is to turn ourselves into something better.

In his commentary on the Book of Proverbs – the Vilna Gaon expanded on verse 4:13 which reads “hold fast to discipline; do not let it go; Keep it. It is your life.”

And how did he interpret the phrase “it is your life?” The Vilna Gaon noted: Read More >

By Rabbi Irwin Huberman|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00April 17, 2019|

Parashat Metzorah 5779

A D’var Torah for Parashat Metzorah
By Rabbi Bruce Alpert (’11)

A few years ago I passed the age at which my mother died. Doing so changed my perspective on my own life. I still want to think of my continuing good health as an entitlement, but it’s hard to do so when you have lived longer than the one who gave you life. Indeed, if there is one prayer that I utter more than any other, it is the one about the nikavim nikavim, halulim halulim – the complex of passageways and orifices that make up the human body, the proper functioning of each one being necessary for our existence.

I thought about that passage while reading of the purification ritual for one who has been cured of tzara-at. Often mistranslated as leprosy, I long ago gave up trying to understand what disease or collection of diseases tzara-at might be. Instead, it has become for me a stand-in for Read More >

By Bruce Alpert|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00April 12, 2019|

Parashat Tazria

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tazria
By Cantor Sandy Horowitz (’14)

Much of the text of Parashat Tazria is about skin disease. These verses, from Leviticus 13:1-46, lay out in remarkable detail numerous variations of skin-related afflictions and how these are to be treated. On the surface one might think that the intention is to demonstrate concern for the physical health and welfare of the community. On the other hand, perhaps the underlying concern is less literal, and is, rather, a statement on the importance of distinguishing between that which is impure from that which is pure. A third take, and what I believe may be a significant function of this text, is that this is about power, specifically the power of the kohanim, the priests. Let us examine each of these viewpoints.

The detailed descriptions of the many variations of skin lesions, and how they are to be managed, seem to read like a medical manual for its Read More >

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00April 4, 2019|

Parashat Shemini

The Center of the Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi Len Levin

“The Masoret (textual tradition) is a safeguarding fence around the Torah.” (Avot 3:13)

What is the core of the Torah? At several places in this week’s Torah reading and in adjacent readings, the astute reader will see notes indicating that this or that verse is the center of the Torah counting by verses, by words, or by letters. What is this about?

The Talmud relates: “The earlier authorities were called soferim [scribes] because they counted [soferim] all the letters of the Torah” (Kiddushin 30a).

From this they concluded that the center of the Torah, counting by letters, is the vav in the word gahon (belly) in the verse, “You shall not eat anything that crawls on its belly” (Lev. 11:42). Counting by verses, it is the verse “[The leper] shall shave himself” (Lev. 13.33). And counting by words, it Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00March 29, 2019|

Parashat Shemini

The Center of the Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi Len Levin

“The Masoret (textual tradition) is a safeguarding fence around the Torah.” (Avot 3:13)

What is the core of the Torah? At several places in this week’s Torah reading and in adjacent readings, the astute reader will see notes indicating that this or that verse is the center of the Torah counting by verses, by words, or by letters. What is this about?

The Talmud relates: “The earlier authorities were called soferim [scribes] because they counted [soferim] all the letters of the Torah” (Kiddushin 30a).

From this they concluded that the center of the Torah, counting by letters, is the vav in the word gahon (belly) in the verse, “You shall not eat anything that crawls on its belly” (Lev. 11:42). Counting by verses, it is the verse “[The leper] shall shave himself” (Lev. 13.33). And counting by words, it Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00March 29, 2019|

Parashat Tzav

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav
By Rabbi Isaac Mann

The prohibition in the Torah against the consumption of blood, which is expressed in this week’s parashah (see Lev. 7:26-27), is generally seen in the context of the laws of kashrut. Just as the Torah prohibits the eating of meat from unclean animals or from animals that were improperly slaughtered or were unfit due to organic disease, so too certain parts of a kosher animal, like the fat (heilev) or the blood (dam) are off-limits. In connection with the latter, the Shulhan Arukh describes various salting and draining methods to rid the meat of any blood that may have flowed into it in order to render it kosher. The pertinent rules and techniques are juxtaposed to the laws that deal with shehitah (ritual slaughtering) and tereifot (diseased animals).

Interestingly, the Torah does not mention the prohibitions against eating the fat or the blood of Read More >

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00March 22, 2019|

Parashat Vayikra 5779

Controlling the High Price of Judaism (and Guilt)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra
By Rabbi David Markus

The Jewish value of tzedakah underscores that to “be Jewish” is partly to “do Jewish,” and to “do Jewish” means to support others. That’s one reason that Judaism calls for tzedakah as charitable acts of support for others that double as communal acts of identity.

Important as tzedakah is, however, tzedakah isn’t a sufficient solution when it becomes too pricy to “do Jewish” in the first place – as increasingly is happening across vast swaths of Jewish life.

The economics of traditional Jewish ways have trended toward narrowcasting Judaism toward affluence. This income effect, in turn, lifts costs higher. Especially for Millennials, high cost can become a practical barrier and/or psychological barrier to doing Jewish.

These dynamics amplify vexing questions about inclusivity and continuity in Jewish life. Cost concerns raise lamentations about Judaism’s socioeconomic privilege, inspiring some to call for cost controls. Even sharp-penciled Read More >

By Linda Ripps|2022-06-27T09:30:46-04:00March 14, 2019|

Parashat Pekudei 5779

A Bell and a Pomegranate
A D’var Torah for Parashat Pekudei
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Rubin Museum of Art in southern Manhattan, which displays items from the cultures of the Himalayas, India, and neighboring regions, with a particular emphasis on Tibetan art. Much of this art is spiritual, and related to Buddhist or Hindu practices. One ritual item I saw in multiple forms was the bell, one of the most important tools of Tibetan Buddhism. The bell, in that tradition, represents emptiness, wisdom, and truth. Another item, the vajra or scepter, represents bliss, action, and compassion, and is considered the complement to the bell—together they represent the union of all dualities, including the feminine and masculine. This got me thinking about bells and their companions a little closer to home: the bells and pomegranates on the bottom of the robe of the high priest in Parashat Pekudei.

The text Read More >

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2019-03-07T12:55:26-05:00March 7, 2019|