Sefer Vayikra Archives | Page 7 of 15 | Academy for Jewish Religion

3 05, 2017

Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2017-05-03T14:13:49-04:00May 3, 2017|

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim: A Look Back

Max: Aaron has asked us to divide into groups and share our reflections about what we heard from Moses today. So many laws! I lost track after fifty.

Hannah: “You, who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by….”*

Max: What?

Hannah: I heard that in a dream once.

Shira: How long will this take? Miriam’s doing folk-dancing tonight and I promised her I’d bring my timbrel…

Shmuel: What’s with all those Ani Adonai (“I am Adonai”)s? He kept repeating it.

Max: Perhaps it helps us remember a Higher Purpose whenever we consider these laws.

Shmuel: Or maybe he’s still mad about the golden calf…

Max: I was struck by hearing the laws regarding land: we’re commanded to leave the corners of our fields for the poor and hungry, fruit-trees grow unpicked for three years and then we sacrifice the first fruits before we can Read More >

3 05, 2017

Parashat Tazria-Metzora

By ahsilver|2017-05-03T14:00:56-04:00May 3, 2017|

The double parshiyot of this week’s Torah reading, Tazria-Metzora, are for many commentators a challenge. Many parshiyot in the Book of Leviticus are challenging, but much of this week’s Torah reading reads like a zombie apocalypse in which people are still concerned whether they are pure or impure.

One theme that keeps returning throughout the reading is that of isolation and loneliness. Law after law describes how people were to be isolated from the rest of the Israelite encampment and whose entry into the sanctuary was forbidden.

She shall remain in a state of blood purification for thirty-three days: she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until her period of purification is completed. (Lev. 12:4)

But if it is a white discoloration on the skin of his body which does not appear to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate Read More >

20 04, 2017

Parashat Shemini

By ahsilver|2017-04-20T21:10:10-04:00April 20, 2017|

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

This week’s parashah begins with Moses’s instructions to Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel:

On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron: “Take a calf of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and bring them before the LORD…” (Leviticus 9:1-2)

Much of the parashah consists of instructions regarding the sacrifices and other regulations regarding dietary restrictions. Near the beginning of the parashah Moses relayed the following instructions to the Children of Israel. “Moses said: “This is what the LORD has commanded that you do, that the Presence of the LORD may appear to you.” (Leviticus 9:6)

The midrash Yalkut Shimoni (13-14th century) brings the following interpretation (par. 521):

Moses said to Israel: Remove that [evil] urge from your hearts in order that you all be of one feeling of awe and Read More >

29 03, 2017

Parashat Vayikra

By Rabbi Len Levin|2017-03-29T22:40:39-04:00March 29, 2017|

by Rabbi Len Levin

Moses: A Leader with a Small Ego
A Dvar Torah for Vayikra

There are two peculiarities in the opening of Leviticus that elude the English reader.

The first is that the first clause is missing a subject. Vayikra el Moshe — “and he called to Moses.” Who called? The kabbalists suppose it is an unusual part of God – maybe “Ehyeh” (I will Be) instead of the accustomed “the Lord.” Modern scholars suggest that it shows continuity with the previous passage in Exodus Chapter 40, “Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the Presence of the Lord filled the Tablernacle…so He (i.e. the Lord) called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting.”

The second peculiarity is that the word Vayikra (he called) is written with a small aleph as its last letter. There are a number of places in the written Torah where letters are written either smaller Read More >

3 06, 2016

Parashat Behukotai

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2016-06-03T08:52:05-04:00June 3, 2016|

by Rabbi Jill Hammer

Parashat Behukotai is a manifestation of an ancient theology that seems distant and yet becomes more relevant to us by the day. In this parashah we learn that the covenant between the Divine and human beings is deeply intertwined with the covenant between the Divine and the earth. In fact, the two covenants cannot be separated. The earth is alive with relationship to God just as we are. This understanding of covenant affects our relationship to the earth and also can affect our way of thinking about sacred space.

In the parashah, the Israelites are promised an abundant earth: Ve-natnah ha’aretz yevulah, ve’etz hasadeh yiten piryo: The earth will give its produce and the tree of the field its fruit. Nature will be abundant and fecund. Your threshing will overtake your vintage and your vintage will overtake the sowing. In other words, each harvest will be so full it will Read More >

27 05, 2016

Parashat Behar

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2016-05-27T13:05:32-04:00May 27, 2016|

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

In the Harry Potter books, Harry is able to take a strand of memory, slip it into a pool of water and then immerse himself in that pool in order to experience the memory. Reading Torah can sometimes feel this way. Torah creates the opportunity to experience multiple planes of reality, simultaneously living in our present-day world while immersing ourselves in ancient biblical events, and then returning to reflect on what we have gleaned. What follows is an exploration into the multiple simultaneous strands of time and place that occur as we read this week’s Torah portion.

Parashat Behar begins with shmita, the laws regarding care of the land: “Six years you shall sow your field and six years you shall prune your vineyard…but in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest to the land” (Leviticus 25:3-4). This verse refers us back to the opening story Read More >

19 05, 2016

Parashat Emor

By Rabbi Len Levin|2016-05-19T10:55:57-04:00May 19, 2016|

To Serve God Without Blemish
by Rabbi Len Levin

“[The priests] shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord’s offerings by fire…and so must be holy.” (Leviticus 21:6)

“Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said: Torah leads to mindfulness, which leads to diligence, which leads to cleanliness, which leads to abstinence, which leads to purity, which leads to saintliness, which leads to humility, which leads to scrupulousness, which leads to sanctity, which awakens the spirit of prophecy and the resurrection of the dead, to be brought about by Elijah (may he be remembered for good!).” (Talmud Avodah Zarah 20b, Mishnah Sotah 9:15).

We read this week of the strictures of purity incumbent on the priests who officiated in the Tabernacle (and in later periods, in the Temple). They should take special care not to incur ritual impurity except in cases of the utmost necessity, such as performing the mitzvah Read More >

13 05, 2016

Parashat Kedoshim

By ahsilver|2016-05-13T12:05:03-04:00May 13, 2016|

by Hazzan Marcia Lane

[We would like to bring to people’s attention the difference between the traditional Diaspora and Israeli Torah reading cycles for the next few months. Since this year the eighth day of Passover, which was observed by many in the Diaspora, fell on Shabbat and had a special Torah reading, the Israeli Torah reading cycle moved one parashah ahead of the traditional Diaspora cycle. The AJR divrei Torah will follow the traditional Diaspora cycle and will catch up to the Israeli cycle at the beginning of August.]

Parashat Kedoshim — The Little Things

Remember the first time your child learned the power of “no”? Oddly, that one word sometimes carries more weight than the equally small, one-syllable “yes.” Sometimes the smallest words are the most powerful. All the most important questions in life can be answered in one syllable.

In this week’s parashah there is a tiny, one-syllable Hebrew word whose translation changes Read More >

5 05, 2016

Parashat Aharei Mot

By ahsilver|2016-05-05T08:58:56-04:00May 5, 2016|

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

Death. Why is there death in this world? Is there a meaning to death? We often ask these questions as we try to make sense of death or when we are confronted with tragedy that seems to overwhelm our sense of right and wrong. We are not alone in asking these questions.

R. Abba b. Abina enquired: For what reason was the section recording the death of Miriam placed in close proximity to that dealing with the ashes of the Red Heifer? Simply this, to teach that as the ashes of the Heifer effect atonement (mekhaper), so the death of the righteous effects atonement (mekhaperet). R. Judan asked: For what reason was the death of Aaron recorded in close proximity to the breaking of the Tables? Simply this, to teach that Aaron’s death was as grievous to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the breaking of the Tablets.

The midrash Read More >

15 04, 2016

Parashat Metzora-Shabbat Hagadol

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2016-04-15T12:03:59-04:00April 15, 2016|

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

With all the preparations involved in getting ready for Pesah, the Shabbat preceding the holiday can tend to feel like a disruption; we know that we ought to savor the Shabbat-time, but it often feels more like something we’d rather “pass over” in our efforts to get to the first Seder on time.

But this is Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Shabbat. The very name calls to us, inviting us to stop and reflect.

One of the reasons for the name of Shabbat Hagadol comes from the Haftarah reading for this Shabbat. This is in keeping with other special Shabbatot whose names are derived from the Haftarah reading of that week (Shabbat Nahamu, Shabbat Shuva, etc.). On Shabbat Hagadol we read in Malachi 3:23: “Hinei anokhi sholeah lakhem et Eliya hanavi lifnei bo yom Adonai hagadol vehanora…” (“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day 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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