The AJR Center for Judaism and Science has an annual competition for the best student D’var Torah infused with science. Click here to view the entries that have won our לדעת חכמה (Lada’at Hokhmah) Award.
Parashat Shemot – 5786
January 6, 2026
Rabbi Dorit Edut
The Burning Bush – The Thorny Entrance to Leadership’s Path A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemot By Rabbi Dorit Edut (AJR 2006) As you enter my living room, a print of Chagall’s Moses and The Burning Bush greets you. It is a simply constructed painting, with a very bright colorful burning bush (oranges, reds, yellows) next to a kneeling figure of Moses, in a metallic blue robe, hand on his heart, and looking out at you with an amazed expression. Above the bush are the letters of the Tetragrammaton encircled, while a small green angelic figure waves downwards, and some random small sheep float off to one side. While Chagall grew up in a religious home in Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus), he certainly adds his own interpretation to the Biblical narrative of this week’s portion, Shemot. Not only is Moses not hiding his face, but we see the karnei or,...
Parashat Vayehi – 5786
December 30, 2025
Blessing Our Children A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayehi By Rabbi Dr. Rachel Posner In my new role as a congregational rabbi, I have the incredible honor of working with conversion students—people choosing Judaism. Yesterday I met with one of my students, Tom, who is nearing the culmination of the process and preparing to meet with the Beit Din. We met to talk about his choice of a Hebrew name. Tom decided to take the name Yaakov, because Jacob’s God-wrestling resonated deeply with him. Wonderful. Once that question was resolved, I asked Tom to consider the names of his Jewish parents. In our tradition, after all, our name is never merely Jacob or Rachel. Every Jewish name includes the name of one’s parents—an acknowledgment of where we come from. Traditionally, gerim assume the parental names of our first ancestors, Abraham and Sarah. I offered Tom the possibility that he might forgo that tradition...
Parashat Vayigash 5786
December 22, 2025
Rabbi Anat Katzir
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayigash By Rabbi Anat Katzir (AJR ’22) “The connection of shared grief and the inspiration of shared destiny.” I sat down to begin writing my D’var Torah with an idea of exactly what I wanted to write about. Thinking ahead about the parashah there was a moment in the story that always stuck out in my memory. The moment that Joseph asks his brothers not to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and you could almost imagine him face-palming when Pharaoh asks: “what is your profession?” And they respond “we are shepherds…” This moment has been a favorite of mine in the simple irony, with Joseph being a character that can’t seem to filter himself, sharing truths in the most blunt way throughout his story. I have always been inspired by the overarching sense that the truth has such great power that is comes out...
Parashat Mikeitz – 5786
December 15, 2025
Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak
A D’var Torah for Parashat Mikeitz By Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak Who doesn’t like fairy tales? Even as adults, although we don’t always admit it, we enjoy going back to the stories that were once read to us by our parents. The magic of fairy tales, the happy endings, the prevalence of good versus evil—these concepts stay with us forever, instilling hope that, even when life is hard, it will get better. My favorites were always the ones that had narratives involving themes of destiny, overcoming challenges, true love, and reclaiming what’s lost. Take “Cinderella.” She worked so hard, lived in poverty, and was abused. Yet she was the one—not her rich sisters—whom the prince fell in love with and married (not without some magic, of course). Or what about “The Ugly Duckling?” He was abandoned by the swan flock and was so ugly that no one wanted him. But as...
Parashat Vayeishev – 5786
December 10, 2025
Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein
From the Pit to the Promise: Finding God’s Presence in Parashat Vayeishev A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeishev By Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein (AJR 2024) Parashat Vayeishev, which we read just before we kindle the lights of Chanukah, plunges us into one of the darkest family sagas in the Torah: the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is a portion filled with sibling rivalry, betrayal, favoritism, and descent—Joseph is thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and eventually imprisoned. Jacob, in his grief, refuses all comfort. Darkness seems to prevail. Yet, amidst this unrelenting bleakness, the Torah offers a crucial counterpoint, a phrase repeated twice in the Parashah, like a quiet, enduring whisper of hope: “וַיְהִי ה’ אֶת יוֹסֵף”— “And the Lord was with Joseph.” (Genesis 39:2, 39:21). The first instance comes after Joseph is sold and finds himself in the house of Potiphar: “The Lord was with Joseph,...
