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1 09, 2010

Parashat Nitzavim-VaYelekh

ahsilver2010-09-01T16:25:12-04:00

Nitzavim-VaYelekh, our double portion for this week, includes the 7^th Haftarah in a series of Haftarot of Comfort and Consolation, read on the 7 Shabbatot following Tisha B Av. It is read on the Shabbat just preceding Rosh Hashanah as we are entering the period of intense personal introspection and accounting that is the essence of the Days of Awe.

The Haftarah comes from the Book of Isaiah, and is generally assumed to have been written by a prophet who lived in exile in Babylonia after the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Â As with many of the prophetic writings, he writes about national issues, specifically God s redemption of the Israelites and their promised triumphant return to Zion after generations of exile.

The prophet is comforting the exiles with the assurance that God has forgiven their sins (presented in earlier writings) and that they will be returning to Zion, to Jerusalem. Read More >

Parashat Nitzavim-VaYelekhahsilver2010-09-01T16:25:12-04:00

24 08, 2010

Parashat Ki Tavo

ahsilver2010-08-24T18:26:39-04:00

By Steve Altarescu

If Deuteronomic theology has not troubled you so far, Ki Tavo will now challenge you as it pushes the concept of reward and punishment to the limit. For the purpose of review here are some highlights of this theology from earlier in the Book of Deuteronomy.

œGive heed to the laws ¦that you may live to enter and occupy the land. (Deut: 4:1)

œObey ¦that it may go well with you. (4:25)

œGod ¦keeps the covenant faithfully ¦of those who love God and keep God s commandments but instantly requites destruction on those who reject Him. (7:9-10)

œIf you do obey these rules ¦God will maintain ¦the covenant. (7:12)

œSee, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing if you obey the commandments ¦and curses if you do not obey the commandments. (11:26)

In summary, the Israelites were told that if they followed the commandments they would be blessed and rewarded, and if they did not they would be cursed and Read More >

Parashat Ki Tavoahsilver2010-08-24T18:26:39-04:00

18 08, 2010

Parashat Ki Tetze

Rabbi Len Levin2010-08-18T20:54:26-04:00

By Rabbi Leonard Levin

A famous midrash tells how Moses argued with the angels that the Torah, though a creature of heaven, was destined for use on earth. œDo you have urges to murder, to commit adultery, to steal? We earthly creatures, who are imperfect, need laws to tame our urges and work for self-improvement. You are already perfect! It is we who need the Torah (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 88b-89a).

Ahad Ha-Am, similarly in his essay œPriest and Prophet, contrasted two currents in Biblical thought. The prophet had a counsel of perfection, and dreamed of a society where justice would flow like a mighty stream and the lion would lie down with the lamb. The priest proposed a practical compromise, incorporating as much of the ideal as his contemporaries could digest, moving society forward one step at a time. Read More >

Parashat Ki TetzeRabbi Len Levin2010-08-18T20:54:26-04:00

11 08, 2010

Parashat Shoftim

ahsilver2010-08-11T19:47:39-04:00

This week we are privileged to read a parashah that covers a multitude of disparate subjects, including the laws of royalty and magicians, but is introduced by the subject relating to the parashah’s title: Shoftim – Judges. In the first verse, we are enjoined to appoint justices; and then in the next two verses we, and not the professional judges to be appointed, are given a set of commands of how we are to apply various concepts of justice. What is it we are prohibited from doing: take bribes, and show favoritism. As to the latter prohibition, Torah does not identify the likely recipients of favoritism. Nevertheless, the natural inclination is to conclude that it is the powerful and the rich who are to be its likely beneficiaries. But does this “natural” conclusion comport with our present society?

This past television season marked the 20th, and last, season of Read More >

Parashat Shoftimahsilver2010-08-11T19:47:39-04:00

3 08, 2010

Parashat Re’eh

ahsilver2010-08-03T17:08:12-04:00

This week’s Torah portion begins with these words, “See, this day I present before you a blessing and a curse. Blessing, that you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day and curse if you do not obey the commandments….” (Deut.11:26-28) Why does it begin with the word “see”? The sentence would stand on its own without it. What are we to “see”?

Deuteronomy is in essence a review of where we have been. It asks us to examine our past actions as well as look ahead to the future. It requires us to have vision, the ability to “see” with all of our being in order to discern the blessings from the curses. As we get ready to enter the Land, God wants us to open our eyes and our hearts to the possibilities that lie ahead, learning from the mistakes that we made along Read More >

Parashat Re’ehahsilver2010-08-03T17:08:12-04:00

28 07, 2010

Parashat Ekev

Cantor Sandy Horowitz2010-07-28T11:41:23-04:00

By Sandy Horowitz

Towards the end of my high school senior year, I woke up one morning with an intense neck spasm, barely able move my head without severe pain. It subsided after awhile, thanks to painkillers and an embarrassingly unattractive neck collar.

Viewing this incident as a physical mirror of my mental state at the time, it s clear that the timing wasn t coincidental “ I wasn t feeling ready for whatever might lie ahead as I stepped into adulthood.

The term k sheh-oref, or œstiff-necked , which appears several times in Ekev and in the Exodus text which is referenced in this week s Torah portion, also speaks to us about the question of our ancestors readiness to meet their future, as they prepared to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. Read More >

Parashat EkevCantor Sandy Horowitz2010-07-28T11:41:23-04:00

13 07, 2010

Parashat Devarim: To our Children’s Children’s Children (With apologies to the Moody Blues, 1969)

ahsilver2010-07-13T16:24:23-04:00

By Simon Rosenbach

My father left social work in early 1951 to sell life insurance in New Jersey for a wonderful (and now defunct) company called the New England Life Insurance Company.Â Eventually, my father was very successful, and the company permitted (or encouraged) him to start his own agency in Plainfield, New Jersey.Â Agencies were known by the name of the general agent in charge, so my father’s agency was the Max Rosenbach Agency.

Alas, the New England had a mandatory, retirement policy, so my father had to surrender his agency when he turned 65. He worked hard, built this very successful business, and now had to relinquish it.Â But family dynasties in the insurance business were common, and surely one of Max’ three sons (sad to say, but daughters were not considered in those days) would want to inherit this multi-million dollar company, Read More >

Parashat Devarim: To our Children’s Children’s Children (With apologies to the Moody Blues, 1969)ahsilver2010-07-13T16:24:23-04:00

22 09, 2009

Parashat Ha-azinu/Shabbat Shuva

ahsilver2009-09-22T18:35:58-04:00

Parashat Ha’azinu/Shabbat Shuva
Susan Elkodsi

Shabbat Shuva carries with it an air of redemption, for ourselves as individuals, and for the Jewish people as a whole. Parashat Ha’azinu, which we read on Shabbat Shuva this year, carries that message from God, through Moses, to the Israelites perched on the banks of the Jordan ready to cross into the Promised Land. Ha’azinu is Moses’ final discourse, his instructions to the people, but it isn’t a “rah rah go get ’em” commencement type of speech. Yes, it’s a message of hope for the future, but before we get there, we have to listen to a lot of scolding and admonition regarding the sins of the previous generations.

This could explain why the parashah begins, Ha’azinu hashamayim v’adabeira, v’tishma ha-aretz imrei-fi. “Give ear, heavens, and I will speak, the earth will hear my speech.” (Deut. 32:1) If this is a message for the people, why is Read More >

Parashat Ha-azinu/Shabbat Shuvaahsilver2009-09-22T18:35:58-04:00

8 09, 2009

Parshat Nitzavim/VaYelekh

ahsilver2009-09-08T16:22:43-04:00

By Sanford Olshansky

When I was 22 years old, I had stopped practicing Judaism. My attendance at Shabbat services had dwindled to zero. Not so unusual – lots of Jews attend synagogue only on the High Holidays plus an occasional bar/bat mitzvah or wedding. But that year, I didn’t even attend High Holiday services – I worked – and it didn’t feel right.

Later that year I read The Source, by James Michener. As I became engrossed in it, I realized that it was speaking to me about a miracle – the miracle of Jewish survival. It reminded me that for over 3,000 years our continuous chain of tradition and belief has survived conquest, exile and dispersion, the rise and fall of empires and persecution which is unparalleled
in human history. It helped me to realize that I’m an heir to a unique spiritual heritage. If I hadn’t read Read More >

Parshat Nitzavim/VaYelekhahsilver2009-09-08T16:22:43-04:00

3 09, 2009

Parashat Ki Tavo

Rabbi Isaac Mann2009-09-03T09:50:15-04:00

By Rabbi Halina Rubenstein

One of the most rewarding experiences of my rabbinical career has been teaching conversion classes. It is exhilarating seeing the students learning Judaism step by step and then witnessing their evolving Jewish identity when everything you have been teaching congeals and becomes love and acceptance. The close relationship that the students and I develop through many months of weekly sessions is essential for this transformation to happen. Working through their struggles, their strengths and weaknesses, their joys and tribulations, together, creates a strong connection and gives them the support to go through the last stage of the conversion process -which is usually charged with anxiety – the meeting with the Bet Din and the mikvah ceremony. This rite of passage which marks their ‘official’ acceptance is a powerful ritual usually accompanied by a dialogue between the Bet Din and the convert in which Read More >

Parashat Ki TavoRabbi Isaac Mann2009-09-03T09:50:15-04:00

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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