Parashat Shla<u>h</u> Lekha

Parashat Shlah Lekha

Looking Without Seeing
By Paul Hoffman

The Lord said to Moses saying: Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of the garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe on each corner. That shall be your fringe;look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. Thus shall you be reminded to observe all my commandments and be holy to your God. I the Lord am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I the Lord your God.(Numbers 15:37-41)

So what does the command to wear tzitzit have to do with this week’s story of the twelve spies ‘ Come and learn:

Our parashah this week is well known and quite straight forward. As Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-06-07T12:24:28-04:00June 7, 2007|

Parashat Bâ€™haâ€™alotekha

Parashat B’ha’alotekha
By Rabbi Aryeh Meir

In his translation of the Five Books of Moses, Everett Fox introduces this section of Sefer Bamidbar (the Book of Numbers) with the title, ‘The Rebellion Narratives.’ The nation, exhausted, hungry (for meat) and thirsty, hurl a series of complaints against their leaders, most harshly against Moses. When the people complain about the quality of the food (since leaving Egypt they had been on a steady diet of Manna in the wilderness), Moses loses it:

Where should I get meat to give to this entire people . . . I am not able, myself alone, to carry this entire people, for it is too heavy for me!

God then tells Moses to gather seventy elders and bring them to the Tent of Appointment and there God will ‘extend from the rushing spirit (ruah) that is upon you and place it upon them; then they will carry along with Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-05-30T07:00:36-04:00May 30, 2007|

Shavuot 5767

Shavuot
By Rabbi S. Robert Waxman, AJR ’79

During these weeks since the Festival of Passover we have been moving toward Shavuot ‘ Pentecost, the Festival of Weeks, the time of the giving and receiving of Torah.

What is Torah? That is a basic question. As we look into possible answers to this question we will have to begin by asking additional basic questions.

What is our goal in life as modern Americans? It is to have a life in community and a life of meaning. As we pause in our journey at Mount Sinai, let us consider how the Torah may be understood in terms of community and meaning.

Let us consider where each of us is with regard to our own personal religious life. The first question is not what each of us believes. No, our beliefs are likely to change with time. It is where we stand in relation to our tradition, what Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-05-21T08:37:21-04:00May 21, 2007|

Parashat Bemidbar

Israel’s ‘New’ Tribes
By Irwin Huberman

This week, as we begin reading Bemidbar, the fourth book of the Torah ‘ Numbers ‘ God commands Moses to conduct a count of males 20 years of age and older.

The parashah (the weekly Torah portion) goes into painstaking detail describing who the leaders of each tribe were, and ultimately how many men were counted in each.

The Torah tells us that, excluding the Levites whose role it was to tend to the Mishkan, Israel’s primary place of worship, there were 603,550 males over 20 years old. The figure inspires us to ‘do the math’ to estimate shortly after the exodus from Egypt, how many children of Israel, including women and children were part of the initial journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan.

The Torah reminds us through the account of the census the importance of our tribes and affiliations. Our tradition tells us that each Read More >

By Rabbi Irwin Huberman|2007-05-16T06:05:44-04:00May 16, 2007|

Parashat Aharei Mot/ K’doshim

Parashat Aharei Mot/ K’doshim: Two Aspects of Holiness
Rabbi David Greenstein

Our double Torah portion occupies the central core of our Torah, called by modern Bible scholars “The Holiness Code.” It is an extended working out of the concept of holiness and how it might be experienced by Israel – her priests and common folk, collectively and individually.

The first portion begins by detailing the elaborate service of atonement of the High Priest on Yom Kippur. But the very first words of the portion set up a frightening warning. These instructions are given to Aaron, the priest, “Aharei Mot” – after the death of his two sons, “as they drew near to God’s Presence and then died.” (Lev. 16:1) Thus, warns God, approaching the Holy cannot be done in a casual manner. “He shall not enter the Holy any time [he desires] . . . so that he shall not die.” (Lev. V. 2) This Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-05-14T06:52:45-04:00May 14, 2007|

Parashat B’har/B’huqotai

By Rabbi Yechiel Buchband

In this week of Jubilee celebrations in our AJR community, it feels good to be so in tune with the rhythm of the Torah reading cycle: our first portion, Parshat Behar, includes the Torah’s teachings concerning the Yovel, the fiftieth year, made special by its unique observances (Lev. 25:8-13): the return of all land to its original owners and the return of slaves to their only true master, the Holy One. We build up to this climactic moment in the cycle by counting off seven sets of seven years, each set culminating in its own Shabbaton of rest for both land and people. Finally, when seven ‘weeks of Years’ each with its own Sabbath, are complete, we welcome the coming of the Jubilee year with a mighty shofar blast, bringing news of freedom and equality to every corner of the land: ‘You shall have the shofar sounded throughout your Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-05-09T13:10:57-04:00May 9, 2007|

Parashat Emor

Parashat Emor
By Doug Alpert

Chapter 23 of Vayikra commences with God directing Moshe Rabeinu to ‘Speak to the Children of Israel – b’nai Yisrael – and say to them: These are the appointed [fixed] times of HaShem which you shall designate as callings of holiness – these are My appointed festivals.’ The parashah goes on to elucidate the calendar of festivals that were celebrated during biblical times. For these festivals (unlike Shabbat, which is set in terms of the days of the week, and which was put into effect by G-d at creation) the court is imbued with the responsibility for fixing the calendar in accordance with its declaration of a new moon. This is to say that it is the human who sanctifies these appointed times as holy.

While it is the court alone that has this responsibility, God has instructed Moshe to speak to the entirety of b’nai Yisrael. This is Read More >

By Doug Alpert|2007-04-25T08:25:34-04:00April 25, 2007|

Parashat Tazri`a-M’tzora

Parashat Tazri`a-M’tzora
By Simon Rosenbach

So, we had 48 hours of rain some years ago and our sump pump failed. Well, we had tons of stuff in the basement, although nothing really good, and we were leaving for Florida in four days, and we naturally went into a panic. How will we ever clean up? How will we save stuff? And, most of all, how will we avoid mold?

We’ve all heard the stories. Killer mold. It grows two feet thick behind the walls of the house. Million-dollar houses in Texas that have to be razed. Oh, man, what are we going to do?

Well, we called some outfit, and a representative came, and surveyed the damage, and said, clean up, let it dry, I’ll wash the rug for you, and don’t worry about it. I’ve been doing this for 39 years, and you will not have a mold problem.

Now, if this had happened 2900 Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-04-18T09:00:45-04:00April 18, 2007|

Parashat Shemini

Parashat Shemini
Heidi Hoover

In recent years, soy has become popular among American vegetarians and others trying to eat a more healthy diet. It is a great source of protein without the fat and cholesterol of meat. The presence of soy in Asian diets has been associated with the low level of heart disease in that part of the world. Tofu, which is made from soy, is good in stir-fried dishes, in soup, even with pasta. What could be bad? More recently, however, there have been studies showing that there can be negative health effects from eating soy products. These include possible thyroid problems, some cancers, fertility issues, and more. So what is going on here? Apparently, what many of these studies are showing is what happens when soy makes up too much of one’s diet.

We are not a society of moderation. We believe that if some is good, more must be better. If Read More >

By Rabbi Heidi Hoover|2007-04-12T09:26:14-04:00April 12, 2007|

Passover 2007

Appreciating Freedom
By Neal L. Spevack

How can one fully appreciate freedom?

The abstention from eating hametz (leavened bread products) is a symbolic activity designed to help us appreciate our freedom. And the absence and presence of hametz in the house can be thought of as a symbol of the morally right and wrong choices acted upon in our life. In the Passover holiday we imagine ourselves as slaves. `Avadim hayinu, “we were slaves,” is the first response in the Haggadah to the Four Questions that the youngest family member recites at the Seder table.

In the home the seder observance of Passover is filled with symbols such as the four cups of wine, the four questions, the four sons, karpas (vegetables), the shank bone, the roasted egg, salt water, matzah, maror (bitter herbs) and so on. One symbol, the salt water, reminds us of the tears of our ancestors as they experienced Read More >

By ahsilver|2007-03-29T07:54:29-04:00March 29, 2007|

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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