Parashat Beshalah 5783
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
|
1
02, 2023
24
01, 2023
Parashat Bo 5783
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
|
16
01, 2023
Parashat Vaeira 5783
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
The Presence and Absence of Names
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vaeira
By Rabbi Robert Scheinberg
Last week’s Torah portion, the first Torah person of the Book of Exodus, is called “Shemot,” which means “names.” And in fact, the Torah portion begins with the names of the sons of Jacob who descended to Egypt and had become the ancestors of the Tribes of Israel. But in a Torah portion which is called “Shemot,” there are relatively few personalities in last week’s Torah portion whose names are listed.
For example, the birth and very early life of the most significant person in the entire Torah are described as follows in last week’s Torah portion: (Exodus 2) “A man from the house of Levi married a woman who was a daughter of Levi. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw how beautiful he was, she hid Read More >
10
01, 2023
Parashat Shemot 5783
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemot
By Rabbi Katy Allen (’05)
I’m glad I wasn’t an Egyptian back then.
I’m glad I wasn’t there
to be ordered by Pharaoh
to throw newborn babies
into the river. (Exodus 1:22)
Although, I’ve heard that I might not necessarily
have had to drown any babies myself ‒
I might, instead, have had to force my neighbors,
the Israelites,
to drown their own babies (Or HaHaim).
I’m glad I didn’t have to do that either.
It’s also possible,
the whispers through the generations tell me ‒
and I shudder in response ‒
that if I myself had given birth
the day that Moses was born,
I might have had to kill my own baby,
Egyptian though he would have been. (Sotah 12a)
Of all the terrible things our sacred tradition tells us
that Pharaoh did,
I find that telling his own people
to snatch up baby Read More >
3
03, 2022
Parashat Pekudei 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
Making Space
A D’var Torah for Parashat Pekudei
By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein (’16)
Some weeks feel like there is just so much ungodliness in the world; it’s hard to know where to even begin shining the light of Torah. I believe in the power of Torah, of the Divine, of our spiritual connections, to help clear away the shadows of sadness and fear, but sometimes there are just too many shadows to get all of them, and I just feel overwhelmed.
In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Pekudei, our scripture may not directly address the horrors of war in Europe, refugees traversing continents, impending climate disaster, changes to public health recommendations that will surely continue to drag out the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, nor the regressive laws across the country right now attacking the bodily autonomy of people with uteruses and the rights of Read More >
24
02, 2022
Parashat Vayakhel – Shabbat Shekalim 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
Generosity and Commitment
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayakhel
By Rabbi Enid Lader (’10)
Voluntary gifts from every quarter of the Israelite population formed the material out of which the Mishkan and its sacred vessels and priestly clothing were crafted and built. There was no imposed special tax for this purpose, but merely the request for voluntary individual contributions: “Take from among you gifts to the Eternal; everyone whose heart so moves him shall bring them—gifts for the Eternal…” (Exodus 35:5).
And bring they did, with such exuberance and generosity that those in charge of the project begged Moses to end the campaign: “The people are bringing more than is needed for the tasks entailed in the work that the Eternal has commanded to be done” (Exodus 36:5).
Thus, we have the first building campaign that Read More >
17
02, 2022
Parashat Ki Tissa 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
Do You Resolve Conflicts Aaron’s Way or Moses’ Way?
A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tissa
By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg
What’s the best way to get two people in a conflict to be reconciled with each other?
Avot De-Rabbi Natan – an early commentary to the Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) – imagines the conflict resolution strategy employed by Moses’ brother Aaron. When Aaron would see two people in conflict, he would go to one of them and say, “Your friend has just come crying to me, saying ‘Woe is me, that I have offended my friend! Aaron, please go and request forgiveness on my behalf!’” Aaron would sit with him until his anger subsided, and then Aaron would go to the other friend and say exactly the same thing. When the two friends would see each other, they would hug each other, and their conflict would Read More >
10
02, 2022
Parashat Tetzaveh 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Tetzaveh
By Rabbi Marc Rudolph (’04)
The final fifteen chapters of the Book of Exodus are devoted to the building of the Mishkan. This comprises over one quarter of the entire book. This year, since it is a leap year, we will spend a full five Shabbatot reading about this, in exquisite detail, in our synagogues. The midrash connects the completion of the Tabernacle with Creation itself. The story of Creation and the story of the construction of the Tabernacle are the only places in all of scripture where the verbs “to complete”, “to sanctify” and “to bless” are used together. (Midrash Tanhuma Pekudei 2:3) Yet it is striking how much more time the Torah spends on the building of the Tabernacle compared to the relatively succinct description of the creation of the universe in the Book of Genesis. Read More >
4
02, 2022
Parashat Terumah 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Terumah
By Rabbi Doug Alpert (’12)
My original D’var Torah which I wrote on Sunday afternoon appears below. However, on Sunday evening many in our AJR community gathered (via Zoom) to share memories of our teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak Mann z”l. Dr. Ora Horn Prouser as our teacher and Academic Dean shared a D’var Torah which, like my D’var Torah referenced the poles of the Ark contained within the Mishkan – our Holy Tabernacle. With that experience I would feel remiss if I did not dedicate this D’var Torah to the memory of Rabbi Mann. As it was said on Sunday evening, Rabbi Mann was not only an extraordinary teacher of Torah, but someone who through his gentle and generous spirit lived Torah.
So how did I draw the short straw. In its droning on and on with instructions for building the Mishkan Read More >
27
01, 2022
Parashat Mishpatim 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah For Parashat Mishpatim
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman
Parashat Mishpatim includes the mitzvot pertaining to one who is responsible for guarding something owned by another. Similarly, it speaks of the responsibility of one who borrows something from another (Exodus 22:9-14). Without going into detail, the Torah points to the difference in obligation depending upon whether the “shomeir,” the one who is watching the item, has been paid for his efforts or not. It also depends on the degree of reasonable concern and/or negligence that the person demonstrated. Obviously, these laws have great application in the lives of people who wish to live together in peace.
There may also be great spiritual significance to this idea. But in order to discuss it, let us first digress.
A few weeks ago, when we read the conclusion of Shirat HaYam, we listened as Moses and Read More >
