Sefer Vayikra Archives | Page 3 of 15 | Academy for Jewish Religion

6 05, 2022

Parashat Kedoshim 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T15:01:28-05:00May 6, 2022|

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A Stumbling Block Before the Blind
A D’var Torah for Parashat Kedoshim
By Rabbi Jill Hackell (’13)

Parashat Kedoshim contains many laws that outline a path toward leading a holy life. Although some of these are mystifying (e.g. the laws of shatnez – a prohibition against wearing clothing made from a mixture of wool and linen), the preponderance of these laws deal with the way one treats our fellow human beings. “Love your fellow as yourself” [Leviticus 19:18] can be seen as a summary of all these laws. If we can picture ourselves in the place of our fellow and treat her as we would want to be treated, then we will be living as we are meant to live.

One law tells us, “You shall not insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind” [ Read More >

29 04, 2022

Parashat Aharei Mot 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T15:01:18-05:00April 29, 2022|

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Aharei Mot
By Rabbi Michael Rothbaum (’06)

In an instantly-classic scene from Fiddler, Tevye the dairyman comes to an agreement to marry off his daughter Tzeitl to the butcher Lazar Wolf. The two men celebrate by singing the rousing anthem L’Hayim — “To Life!” The lyrics report that:

Life has a way of confusing us,
Blessing and bruising us.
Drink, l’chaim, to life!

This modern Jewish sacred text reflects an elemental hasidishe teaching — namely, that that even when the material conditions of existence are meager, we raise up the sparks of holiness that surround us. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, we can lift a glass of shnapps “to life.”

The toast l’hayim stretches much farther back than Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics, of course, no matter how much we revere them. Some scholars trace the custom all the way back to Talmudic times, as illustrated in this text Read More >

8 04, 2022

Parashat Metzora – Shabbat Hagadol 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T15:00:31-05:00April 8, 2022|

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Turning Our Hearts Towards Each Other at the Seder
A D’var Torah for Parashat Metzora – Shabbat Hagadol
By Rabbi Robert Scheinberg

Why is the Shabbat before Passover called Shabbat HaGadol – the “great Sabbath”? One of the best known explanations is presented by the Levush (OH 430:1), among other sources: It refers to the concluding lines from the Haftarah designated for Shabbat Hagadol, taken from the conclusion of the book of Malachi: “Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome [Hebrew: hagadol], fearful day of Adonai. He [Elijah] shall turn the hearts of parents toward children, and the hearts of children toward parents….” (3:23-24)

The prophet Malachi uses the word hagadol, “great” or “awesome,” to Read More >

1 04, 2022

Parashat Tazria – Shabbat Hahodesh 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T15:00:18-05:00April 1, 2022|

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Tazria – Shabbat Hahodesh
By Rabbi Doug Alpert (’12)

I watched with great interest the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings this past week regarding Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. This interest is not generated solely by my background and interest in law, nor is my concern limited to the state of our country and the on-going challenges to our democracy. As Jews we (and I) are keenly aware of the importance of Halakhah; how our rule of law and a system of justly administered laws contributes to our sense of community and Jewish unity. As Jews we also know that we have thrived when governed by democratically principled governments and we have painful memories of being targets of persecution under authoritarian regimes.

My interest in the hearings for Judge Brown Read More >

24 03, 2022

Parashat Shemini 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T14:59:52-05:00March 24, 2022|

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Three Lessons in Spiritual Leadership
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman

Parashat Shemini establishes Aaron as the Kohein Gadol, the spiritual leader of the Jewish people. From Aaron we might learn positive lessons about how we grow as spiritual leaders. The parasha also tells a story of Moses from which we might also learn a lesson of spiritual leadership – albeit a negative one. And then there is the lesson of spiritual leadership which we learn from the pig.

Moses said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and perform your service…” (Lev. 9:7) Rashi points out that Moses had to tell Aaron to ‘come near’ because Aaron was reluctant, embarrassed. He still had the image of the Golden Calf and his role in that scene. He felt unworthy. Yet Moses encouraged his brother, telling him that this spiritual leadership Read More >

17 03, 2022

Parashat Tzav 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T14:59:40-05:00March 17, 2022|

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav
By Rabbi Ariann Weitzman (’11)

This week’s parasha begins with a command to offer an olah, a burnt offering. The olah was not offered to expiate guilt or express thanksgiving. No explanation is given for it, and unlike other sacrifices, no part of the olah was kept to feed the priests or the family who offered it.

According to Leviticus Rabbah 7:3, ain ha’olah ba’ah ela al hirhur halev, the olah is only brought because of the doubts of the heart. Perhaps those doubts arise from a sense that we may have sinned and do not know it. Or perhaps, we have failed to express thanks and must rectify the omission.

Or, alternatively, as I learned from my teacher, Rabbi Jill Hammer, the olah is offered as a result of personal fear, and the sacrifice is an effort to strengthen one’s relationship with God, to form Read More >

10 03, 2022

Parashat Vayikra 5782

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T14:59:29-05:00March 10, 2022|

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The Covenant of Salt, the Salt of Your Covenant
A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra
By Rabbi Katy Allen (’05)

וְכׇל־קׇרְבַּ֣ן מִנְחָתְךָ֮ בַּמֶּ֣לַח תִּמְלָח֒ וְלֹ֣א תַשְׁבִּ֗ית מֶ֚לַח בְּרִ֣ית אֱ-לֹהֶ֔יךָ מֵעַ֖ל מִנְחָתֶ֑ךָ עַ֥ל כׇּל־קׇרְבָּנְךָ֖ תַּקְרִ֥יב מֶֽלַח:

You shall season your every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with G!d; with all your offerings you must offer salt. —Leviticus 2:13

Waves—
lapping gently against warm sand,
crashing ferociously against rocky crags,
mixing with sweet water in sheltered estuaries,
cresting endlessly across vast open oceans—
a constant reminder
of the everlasting brit melah, covenant of salt. (Num. 18:19)

Ancient is this covenant,
from Creation, (Rashi Lev. 2:13)
when G!d decreed that salt would be offered on the altar
with the sacrifices—
salt,
derived from the sea,
perhaps to enhance the taste,
perhaps Read More >

7 05, 2021

Parashiyot Behar-Behukotai 5781

By Rabbi Ariann Weitzman|2022-07-29T11:24:20-04:00May 7, 2021|

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A D’var Torah for Parashiyot Behar- Behukotai
By Rabbi Ariann weitzman (’11)

Our double portion this week, parashiyot Behar-Behukotai, offers a connected vision of a world founded on basic trust in the systems of nature as an expression of God’s abundant grace. Parashat Behar begins by instructing us in the laws of the sabbatical and Jubilee years. Every seven years, we must let land lay fallow. Every 50 years, we must let the land rest an additional year, free individuals enslaved by their debts, and let land revert to its ancestral holdings. Along the way, objections are raised: How can you sell land knowing it must revert back to its original owner in just a few years? How do we deal with houses in cities or small villages? How can we truly believe that food will be provided for us in Read More >

30 04, 2021

Parashat Emor 5781

By Doug Alpert|2022-07-29T11:24:20-04:00April 30, 2021|

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Emor
By Rabbi Doug Alpert (’12)I cannot recall a time when we have been more preoccupied with time than during this COVID 19 pandemic. How much longer until we… can get our vaccines? Travel safely again? See family beyond our bubble? No longer need to mask up? Be back in person together in Shul? We grope to find some certainty amidst a time of great uncertainty.

Yet, our preoccupation with time is not a new phenomenon. We as Jews have always been keenly aware of time. Rabbi Jill Hammer describes the Issacharites as “knowers of the wisdom of time” and that they had knew about “the shifting of light across time.” (The Jewish Book of Days at p. 265).

This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, delves into the importance of time. “Speak to B’nai Yisrael and say to them; the appointed times of HaShem which you Read More >

23 04, 2021

Parashiot Aharei Mot / Kedoshim 5781

By Rabbi Len Levin|2022-07-29T11:24:20-04:00April 23, 2021|

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A D’var Torah for Parashiot Aharei Mot / Kedoshim
By Rabbi Jill Hackell (’13)

You shall rise before the aged and respect the elderly; you shall fear your God, I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 19:32]

This verse is found in parashat Kedoshim, a parashah which begins with Moses transmitting these words of God to the community of Israel: “You shall be holy [kedoshim tehiyu], for I, the Lord God, am holy.” [19:1-2] What does it mean to be holy? What does God ask of us? Let’s look at our verse as an example.

At one time, Israeli buses displayed the first part of this verse – mip’nei siva takum – literally, ‘Rise before the gray-hairs’, on signs, to remind younger riders that society expects them to give up their seats to their elders. What a wonderful way to create a society which teaches the value of Read More >

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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