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 Nitzavim – 5785
September 16, 2025
Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR '15)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Nitzavim By Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR ’15) Parashat Nitzavim is usually read a week or two before Rosh Hashanah, and begins with Moses reminding us that following Torah, God’s commandments, isn’t so difficult, or at least it shouldn’t be. The parashah begins with Moses acknowledging the entire community standing before him; the elders, the tribal leaders, the children, men and women, resident aliens, everyone from the woodchopper to the water drawers. (Dev. 29:9-10) I’ve always wondered why the professions of wood chopping and water drawing would not only be singled out, but presented in a way that suggests that they’re two ends of spectrum, or that perhaps these are unskilled laborers who might not be as learned as the elders of the community. And I also wonder, when we say “from alef to tav,” for example, there are usually steps in between. Here, we’re not...
Parashat Ki Tavo -5785
September 8, 2025
Rabbi Greg Schindler (’09)
Teach Your Children Well A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Greg Schindler From the moment she stepped into the home in Tuscumbia, Alabama on March 3, 1887, 21-year old Anne Sullivan faced a daunting challenge. Not only was her new 6-year old pupil blind (like Anne), but she was also deaf, mute, and very unruly. Anne immediately began signing words into the child’s hand. It took a month of constant repetition, but eventually the girl began to comprehend that the words drawn on her hand represented things in the world. Anne understood that teaching this child would best be achieved by focusing on touch, smell, and taste. And so, many of their lessons took place outdoors where they could touch the animals, smell the flowers, and taste the fruits. One concept, however, proved extremely challenging — the difference between the “mug” and the “milk” that it held. ...
Parashat Ki Teitzei – 5785
September 2, 2025
Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan ('20)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Teitzei By Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan As we enter the month of Elul, preparing for Rosh Hashanah, many of us begin to plan who will be seated at our festive tables — and realize also, who will not. For some, this season stirs joy. For others, it stirs old and new grief. Rabbi Naomi Levy, a contemporary liturgist, offers a powerful “Prayer When a Parent Dies” in her book Talking to God: “I miss you. You gave me my life. You were my protector, my teacher, my moral compass, my comfort. I feel so alone without you. No one worries about me the way you did. No one loves me the way you did… Please forgive me for the times I caused you pain, and for the times I took you for granted… I will always treasure the lessons you taught me. I will...
Parashat Shoftim – 5785
August 26, 2025
Rabbi Enid C. Lader ('10)
One to Keep Before You… And One to Carry with You A D’var Torah for Parashat Shoftim By Rabbi Enid C. Lader As Moses continues his instructions to all the people of Israel as they are preparing to enter the Promised Land, he says: “You shall be free to set a king over yourself, one chosen by the Eternal your God… He shall not keep many horses… He shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess. When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he is to write himself a Mishneh Torah – a copy of this Instruction – in a scroll, before the presence of Levitical priests. Let it remain with him and let him read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere the Eternal his God, to observe...
Parashat Re’eh – 5785
August 19, 2025
Rabbi Rob Scheinberg
The Torah of Vacation A D’var Torah for Parashat Re’eh By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg, PhD Here’s a good question to ask in August: What does the Torah teach us about how to go on vacation? Our initial answer might be: not so much. You would have a hard time coming up with references to vacation in the Torah. Perhaps one could refer to Shabbat as a weekly vacation, but that uses the word “vacation” very differently from how we tend to use it. There is a lot of discussion of travel in the Torah: Abraham moves to the land of Israel; the people of Israel go down to Egypt, and then take a long and scenic route for forty years back to the land of Israel. But most of this travel is desperate wandering and displacement, rather than the vacation travel that many experience today. Surprisingly, though, every summer we read a...
