Parashat Emor

To Serve God Without Blemish
by Rabbi Len Levin

“[The priests] shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord’s offerings by fire…and so must be holy.” (Leviticus 21:6)

“Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said: Torah leads to mindfulness, which leads to diligence, which leads to cleanliness, which leads to abstinence, which leads to purity, which leads to saintliness, which leads to humility, which leads to scrupulousness, which leads to sanctity, which awakens the spirit of prophecy and the resurrection of the dead, to be brought about by Elijah (may he be remembered for good!).” (Talmud Avodah Zarah 20b, Mishnah Sotah 9:15).

We read this week of the strictures of purity incumbent on the priests who officiated in the Tabernacle (and in later periods, in the Temple). They should take special care not to incur ritual impurity except in cases of the utmost necessity, such as performing the mitzvah Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2016-05-19T10:55:57-04:00May 19, 2016|

Parashat Kedoshim

by Hazzan Marcia Lane

[We would like to bring to people’s attention the difference between the traditional Diaspora and Israeli Torah reading cycles for the next few months. Since this year the eighth day of Passover, which was observed by many in the Diaspora, fell on Shabbat and had a special Torah reading, the Israeli Torah reading cycle moved one parashah ahead of the traditional Diaspora cycle. The AJR divrei Torah will follow the traditional Diaspora cycle and will catch up to the Israeli cycle at the beginning of August.]

Parashat Kedoshim — The Little Things

Remember the first time your child learned the power of “no”? Oddly, that one word sometimes carries more weight than the equally small, one-syllable “yes.” Sometimes the smallest words are the most powerful. All the most important questions in life can be answered in one syllable.

In this week’s parashah there is a tiny, one-syllable Hebrew word whose translation changes Read More >

By ahsilver|2016-05-13T12:05:03-04:00May 13, 2016|

Parashat Aharei Mot

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

Death. Why is there death in this world? Is there a meaning to death? We often ask these questions as we try to make sense of death or when we are confronted with tragedy that seems to overwhelm our sense of right and wrong. We are not alone in asking these questions.

R. Abba b. Abina enquired: For what reason was the section recording the death of Miriam placed in close proximity to that dealing with the ashes of the Red Heifer? Simply this, to teach that as the ashes of the Heifer effect atonement (mekhaper), so the death of the righteous effects atonement (mekhaperet). R. Judan asked: For what reason was the death of Aaron recorded in close proximity to the breaking of the Tables? Simply this, to teach that Aaron’s death was as grievous to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the breaking of the Tablets.

The midrash Read More >

By ahsilver|2016-05-05T08:58:56-04:00May 5, 2016|

The Last Days of Pesah

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

Many commentators on the Haggadah have pointed to the apparent contradictory symbolism of the matzah at the Seder table. On the one hand, we start the Maggid (telling of the story) section with referring to the matzah as hah lahma anya — this is the bread of affliction — symbolizing the bread that the Israelites ate in Egypt during their slavery. On the other hand, as we get to the end of the Maggid and we quote Rabban Gamliel’s famous explanations for the basic ritual items at the Seder, we observe that the matzah is the bread that the Children of Israel ate when they left Egypt in haste, thus making it a symbol of freedom and liberation from slavery.

Well, which is it? The simple answer is both. To distinguish between the dual symbolism, we point to a broken matzah as the lahma anya and to a whole matzah Read More >

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2016-04-27T09:02:29-04:00April 27, 2016|

Passover

The Four Cups and the Four Children: A Meditative Journey for Passover

“I will take you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you to be my people.”

Four promises of the Exodus, represented by the four cups.

The Torah speaks of four children: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask.

Passover Haggadah

Closing your eyes, take three breaths and find yourself at a seder table. You may be alone or there may be people with you. There are not yet any cups for the seder on the table.

The wise child, the hakham or hakhamah, enters the room and brings you the first cup for the seder. Notice whether the wise child is familiar or unfamiliar, as well as all the other attirbutes of this child. Notice what kind of cup it is that the wise child brings you. If it seems right to Read More >

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2016-04-22T11:17:29-04:00April 22, 2016|

Parashat Metzora-Shabbat Hagadol

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

With all the preparations involved in getting ready for Pesah, the Shabbat preceding the holiday can tend to feel like a disruption; we know that we ought to savor the Shabbat-time, but it often feels more like something we’d rather “pass over” in our efforts to get to the first Seder on time.

But this is Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Shabbat. The very name calls to us, inviting us to stop and reflect.

One of the reasons for the name of Shabbat Hagadol comes from the Haftarah reading for this Shabbat. This is in keeping with other special Shabbatot whose names are derived from the Haftarah reading of that week (Shabbat Nahamu, Shabbat Shuva, etc.). On Shabbat Hagadol we read in Malachi 3:23: “Hinei anokhi sholeah lakhem et Eliya hanavi lifnei bo yom Adonai hagadol vehanora…” (“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day Read More >

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2016-04-15T12:03:59-04:00April 15, 2016|

Parashat Tazria-Shabbat Hahodesh

Renewal
A Meditation for Shabbat Hahodesh – Tazri’a

by Rabbi Len Levin

“Let this New-Moon be for you the beginning of New-Moons, the beginning-one let it be for you of the New-Moons of the year.” (Exodus 12:2, transl. Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses, Schocken, 1995)

Hodesh = “new-moon” (from hadash, new): the renewal of the moon at the beginning of its monthly cycle. Related to hiddush, renewal.

We thank You, God, for Your many acts of renewal, from ancient times to the present:

Renewal, as the moon, after vanishing to nothing in the morning east, reappears as a silver crescent in the evening west, with promise of fullness in the days and weeks to come.

Renewal, as the earth, shedding its blanket of snow, peeks up green and violet shoots, harbingers of the blaze of glorious vegetation in the months ahead, and we begin a new calendar year.

Renewal, as each young mother produces Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2016-04-07T16:29:47-04:00April 7, 2016|

Parashat Shemini–Shabbat Parah

Shabbat Parah — Holy cow!!

This Shabbat is one of the four specially designated Shabbatot leading up to Passover. They are all exemplified by a special Torah reading that gets added to the reading for the particular Shabbat, and they all have special haftarot — readings from the prophetic books. This week is the strangest of all, Shabbat Parah, the Shabbat of the red heifer. Or, as one of my teachers called it, “Holy Cow Shabbat!” We will read the standard Torah reading for the week, in this case the reading in the book of Leviticus called Shemini, and then we will read from the book of Numbers, the section that outlines the ritual of choosing, slaughtering, and burning a pure red heifer, one that has never worn a yoke on its neck.

The convoluted ritual of the sacrifice of this cow is part of the process of purification leading up to Passover, to Read More >

By ahsilver|2016-03-31T13:19:29-04:00March 31, 2016|

Parashat Tzav

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

This week’s parashah continues the extensive discussion of the different sacrifies that God commanded the Israelites, and it is therefore not surprising that sacrifices make an appearance in the haftarah chosen for Parashat Tzav. The haftarah contains a much discussed verse from Jeremiah that seems to imply that the Children of Israel were not originally commanded to offer sacrifices.

“For on the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Jeremiah 7:22)

A similar sentiment can be found in Amos:

“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?” (Amos 5:25)

Biblical commentators and scholars have been puzzled by the claim that the Children of Israel were not commanded to offer sacrifies while in Read More >

By ahsilver|2016-03-25T11:02:53-04:00March 25, 2016|

Parashat Vayikra

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

With many of us glued to the news at a time when we are trying to decide who should be our next leader, it may come as a surprise that this week’s Torah portion, which deals with animal and meal offerings, has what to teach us about leadership qualities.

In chapter 4 of Vayikra the Torah speaks of four individuals or groups who if they sin unintentionally are to bring a hatat (sin) offering. Each of the offerings is described in detail and is somewhat different from the others. The four categories, in accordance with rabbinic tradition, are as follows: the high priest (vv. 3-12), the Sanhedrin (high court) (vv. 13-21), the ruler or king (vv. 22-26), and the individual Israelite (vv. 27-35). Interestingly, three of the categories are introduced by the word im, which means “if” — i.e., if the individual or group will sin, then such and such Read More >

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2016-03-18T08:13:00-04:00March 18, 2016|

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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