Parashat Shemini

By Michael G. Kohn

And Aaron fell silent . . .

As a congregational rabbi with an aging congregation comforting the bereaved, while fortunately not an everyday occurrence, nevertheless constitutes a significant portion of my time. In addition, as an on-call chaplain at a major medical center, I am occasionally called to come there in the middle of the night to comfort a family who has just lost a loved one. These visits are never easy, even when the loved one has lived a full measure of years and death was expected.

Reactions to a loved one’s passing vary from individual to individual and from circumstance to circumstance. There often are tears; occasionally, cries of anguish. Some want to tell me about their loved one. And others just want to be alone with their thoughts. In this week’s parashah, after the death of two Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2011-03-24T16:28:16-04:00March 24, 2011|

Parashat Tzav

By Cantor Robin Joseph

So, there was this man . . . who was so unhappy with his life . . . he grumbled, complained, and was not grateful for anything. One day the Angel of Death came to him and said, “OK-time’s up; you’re coming with me.” The misanthrope suddenly perks up and pleads with the Angel of Death to spare him. “I’ll do anything!” he says. “Just please don’t take me now!”

The Angel of Death makes him a deal: “Every day that you find something to bless in your life, everyday that you find something different to thank God for, is another day that I’ll let you live. But as soon as you stop, I will come back for you.”

The man agrees and the Angel of Death departs.

Amazingly enough, this man does find something different to bless and be thankful Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-03-17T13:01:54-04:00March 17, 2011|

Parashat Vayikra

By Cantor Jacklyn Chernett

Leviticus, or Torat Kohanim, from the beginning, seems like an endless list of intricate sacrifices, the concept of which is almost anathema to us in our time. The sacrificial cult is difficult for us to comprehend. Expiation for sin is now dealt with in differing ways – (know a good therapist?) – and prayer has taken over where ritual slaughter and dashing of blood came to an end with the destruction of the Temple in 70CE. Or did it?

In 1993, we had the privilege of travelling to Nepal. We stayed at the foothills of the Himalayas and our guide asked us if we would like to attend a sacrifice. Horrified but enthralled, we asked about it. “We sacrifice twice a week” said the guide. The following Tuesday we were taken up into the hills. The vehicle was parked Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-03-10T13:30:59-05:00March 10, 2011|

Parashat Pekudei

By Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein

“On the first day of the first month you shall set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:2). This is taken to mean the first of the month of Nissan.

Here in the Northeast, it has been a long, hard winter. Snow continues to fall lightly and we are dreaming of spring. I don’t know about you, but in my house the discussion has already turned to Passover cleaning. My daughter even came home from college to jumpstart the process. I usually try to stay out of the angst this process provokes and I am usually unsuccessful. Our text gives us a different model.

Not quite a year after the Exodus, God commands the Israelites to build a mishkan, a tabernacle. They have turned their attention to homebuilding and homemaking. And what attention to detail! We Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-03-10T13:29:03-05:00March 10, 2011|

Parashat Va-Yakhel

By Dr. Diane Sharon

In Parashat Va-Yakhel, Moses gathers the entire community of Israel together, and repeats to them all the plans for the holy Tabernacle that will be God’s dwelling place during the wilderness passage from Sinai to Canaan.

The community of Israel, newly chastened after the apostasy of the Molten Calf, newly rededicated to their faith in the God who brought them out of Egypt, is waiting to hear from Moses all that God has told him during his long absence on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. They are breathlessly wondering what new commands there will be, beyond the Ten Commandments and all of Mishpatim, the laws, that God has set forth in earlier chapters of Exodus. They expect something new, perhaps something surprising. Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-02-24T12:39:34-05:00February 24, 2011|

Parashat Ki Tissa

By Rabbi Enid Lader

Karan ‘Or Panav – His Face Was Radiant

At the end of our Torah portion, Moses comes down from his encounter with God at Sinai with the second set of tablets. His face is described as “radiant” – so much so, that it is difficult for others to look upon him, and he needs to cover his face with a veil. This is indeed quite something, since the text mentions this three times: Exodus 34:29, 30, 35. However, this is not the first time Moses and God are in “conversation,” yet this is the first time Moses’ countenance is so affected. Why was this time different from all other times?

Moses’ first encounter with God was the scene of the burning bush on Mt. Horeb (Exodus, ch. 3). Moses saw that a bush was burning, yet not consumed, and went toward it for a closer look. We Read More >

By Rabbi Enid C. Lader|2011-02-15T19:30:07-05:00February 15, 2011|

Parashat Tetzaveh

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

As a young girl, I was often warned when thinking about something not to wrinkle my forehead lest I end up with the multi-lined foreheads of my uncle and my grandfather, a positive physical feature for them as serious, male, patent attorneys. When I first heard that emotions and experiences could be etched into our faces as in the expression “It was written all over his forehead,” I began to periodically examine my forehead and look at others this way as well. Then this week I came upon the probable origins of all this forehead attention as I read in our Torah portion, Exodus 28:36-38:

“You shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: ‘Holy to the Lord’ … It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may take away any sin arising from the holy things that Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-02-15T19:28:13-05:00February 15, 2011|

Parashat Terumah

byÂ Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum

We’ve just passed through January, so Americans now emerge from our Festivals of Football and Fast Food Feasting. Some hold season tickets and don’t miss a game. Some go occasionally, braving frigid winds to cheer their teams to victory. Some bring a dish to Superbowl parties or take a peek at clever commercials. Some catch a score and some await the headlines. Some do not relate at all to the festivities or the baffling sport.

It’s much the same in the Jewish world, if we believe studies on synagogue or organizational affiliation. Some are avid supporters year ’round and make attendance a priority. Others enjoy the spectacle of a special holiday service or pitch in to help a cause that means something to them personally. Some show up not Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-02-02T20:39:03-05:00February 2, 2011|

Parashat Mishpatim

This week I have mid-terms. Oh, no-wait. Not me. I meant my son has mid-terms this week. Not sure what I was thinking . . . except that any time my 13-year-old son has heavy testing, I seem to get enlisted into helping him sort through all the course information that has been administered to him over the past few months. He and I have different ideas of how to process information, however, and as the pressure mounts for my child, so does the sturm und drang that accompany our study session-“I don’t get it!” “I don’t have to know that!” “Just tell me what the answer is!” As the infusion of data overwhelms him like a tidal wave, I lose all confidence that I can ever help him to understand what he needs to know.

I sort of feel the same way Read More >

By ahsilver|2011-01-26T13:44:08-05:00January 26, 2011|

Parashat Yitro

Addressed To Each of Us Individually

“In the third month, on the first day of the month, on this day (ba-yom ha-zeh) the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai.” Why “on this day”? To teach you that every day one must regard the Sinaitic revelation as a present reality, that God is addressing you and speaking to you today (Rashi on Exodus 19:1).

“Like the smoke of a kiln.” Only like the smoke of a kiln? An understatement! Rather, this is to teach you that the divine utterance modulates itself to what the ear can hear (Mekhilta on Exodus 19:18). Similarly: “The voice of the Lord is in strength (Psalm 29:4) -adapted to the strength of each individual (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana on Exodus 20:1 -Â “I am the Lord your God”). Read More >

By Rabbi Len Levin|2011-01-20T14:25:00-05:00January 20, 2011|

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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