Special Parshiyot Archives | Page 3 of 8 | Academy for Jewish Religion

31 03, 2016

Parashat Shemini–Shabbat Parah

By ahsilver|2016-03-31T13:19:29-04:00March 31, 2016|

Shabbat Parah — Holy cow!!

This Shabbat is one of the four specially designated Shabbatot leading up to Passover. They are all exemplified by a special Torah reading that gets added to the reading for the particular Shabbat, and they all have special haftarot — readings from the prophetic books. This week is the strangest of all, Shabbat Parah, the Shabbat of the red heifer. Or, as one of my teachers called it, “Holy Cow Shabbat!” We will read the standard Torah reading for the week, in this case the reading in the book of Leviticus called Shemini, and then we will read from the book of Numbers, the section that outlines the ritual of choosing, slaughtering, and burning a pure red heifer, one that has never worn a yoke on its neck.

The convoluted ritual of the sacrifice of this cow is part of the process of purification leading up to Passover, to Read More >

3 12, 2015

Parashat Vayeishev-Hanukkah

By Rabbi Len Levin|2015-12-03T11:35:46-05:00December 3, 2015|

Joseph and Judah as Paradigms
by Rabbi Len Levin

Everyone loves Joseph. But my mentor Maurice Samuel did not. In Certain People of the Book (1955), he relates how Joseph’s taunting his brothers and later manipulating his awesome power to scare the living daylights out of them reminded him of experiences of being taunted and bullied. Samuel tells the story of Joseph and the brothers from the brothers’ point of view.

Samuel also made a broader, more serious analysis of the historic role that Joseph played, according to the biblical narrative. Joseph was the first in a line of Jews (including Samuel Hanagid of 11th century Spain, Benjamin Disraeli, and most recently Henry Kissinger) who rose to positions of power in the non-Jewish political world. Though occasionally using their position to benefit their people of origin, their primary allegiance was to their gentile patrons. The brothers’ not recognizing Joseph is perhaps symptomatic of an ambiguity Read More >

8 04, 2015

Pesah and Sefirat Haomer

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2015-04-08T11:06:25-04:00April 8, 2015|

The Crossing of the Sea and Serach bat Asher
by Rabbi Jill Hammer

The Israelites believed because they heard, not because they saw the signs. What made them believe? The sign of redemption. They had this sign as a tradition from Jacob… Asher, the son of Jacob, had handed down the secret to his daughter Serach, who was still alive. This is what he told her: “Any redeemer that will come and say to my children pakod yifkod (“he will surely remember you”) shall be regarded as a true deliverer. When Moses came and said these words, the people believed him at once.

Exodus Rabbah 5:13

Rav Yochanan was sitting and preaching: “How did the water of the Sea of Reeds appear like walls to Israel? It looked like thick bushes.” Serach daughter of Asher looked into the study-house and said: “I was there, and it didn’t look like that at all. It looked like bright Read More >

3 04, 2015

Pesah

By Rabbi Len Levin|2015-04-03T07:46:26-04:00April 3, 2015|

PESAH: THE SECRET OF JEWISH MEMORY

by Rabbi Len Levin

The taste of the maror and haroset are imprinted in my sensory memory, along with the smell of the wine and the eggs. The crunchy feel of the first seder matzah between my tongue and teeth. The sound of the familiar melodies and the voices of my family. The sights–the candles, the tablecloth, the special dishes, the Seder plate, the family gathered around the table. All the senses are engaged. Every layer of my personality– subconscious, conscious, and superconscious–focused on the ritual commemoration of our formative historical experience.

This is how Jewish group memory gets transmitted from generation to generation. This is why we have survived for over three thousand years and have kept up the journey several times around the world and back to our homeland in living memory.

In every generation each person should see himself or herself as if he or she Read More >

5 11, 2014

Shavuot

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2014-11-05T11:24:52-05:00November 5, 2014|

Shavuot-Meditation on the Mountain

Rabbi Jill Hammer

1. “The Eternal called to him from the mountain, saying: ‘Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and speak to the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to me.'”

Exodus 19:3-4

Close your eyes and pay attention to your breath. As you sit in meditation, imagine climbing on the back of a great bird and being lifted on the wings of a great bird, so that you can see the world from high above. What do you see? What does it feel like to be carried by this winged presence? What perspective do you gain from high in the air? What does this new vision of the world ask of you?

Now, imagine that, from Read More >

5 11, 2014

Passover

By ahsilver|2014-11-05T11:10:16-05:00November 5, 2014|

What’s in a Name?
Hazzan Marcia Lane

Like all three pilgrimage festivals, Passover has several names. It’s called Hag ha-Pesah, the ‘passing-over’ holiday, in Exodus 12:11 and in several other places in the Torah. That name refers to the fact that when the Angel of Death comes to kill the firstborn in the land of Egypt, he skips, passes over, the houses of the Israelites which are marked with blood on the doorposts. In acknowledgement of the connection of the holiday to the cycle of the agricultural year, it’s also called Hag ha-Aviv, the Springtime festival, alluded to in Deuteronomy 16:1.

It seems obvious that this holiday, during which we are prohibited from consuming or even possessing hametz, leavened foods, should also be called Hag ha-Matzot, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That name occurs in Exodus 12:8 and in several other places. The Read More >

18 03, 2014

Parashat Shemini-Shabbat Parah

By ahsilver|2014-03-18T10:20:07-04:00March 18, 2014|

This Shabbat, Shabbat Parah, is the third of the special Shabbatot that are observed from before Purim, beginning with Shabbat Shekalim, and continuing through the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh Nisan, Shabbat ha-Hodesh. This week’s special maftir Torah reading is about the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. This section of the Torah is read because the use of the Red Heifer’s ashes was a necessary step in the process of purification before the offering of the Korban Pesah, the Paschal offering. The meaning of the Red Heifer has challenged commentators and interpreters since late antiquity. The following midrash addresses the meaning of the Red Heifer, contrasting the explanation that was given by a rabbi sage from the first century CE to a Gentile with the explanation that he gave to his students. Raising the question of whether we should tailor our teachings and opinions to different audiences.

A gentile asked Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, saying Read More >

9 03, 2014

Purim

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2014-03-09T17:38:10-04:00March 9, 2014|

The Faces of Purim: A Journey
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD

Cursed be Haman who sought to destroy me; blessed be Mordechai the Jew. Cursed be Zeresh the wife of the one who terrified me;
blessed be Esther for my sake. Cursed be all the wicked; blessed be all the righteous; and may Charvonah also be remembered for good.
Shoshanat Yaakov

Rabbah said: A person must get drunk on Purim until he does not know the difference between “blessed is Mordechai” and “cursed is Haman.”
Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 7b

On Purim, Jews all over the world will dress in costume and hear a ceremonial reading of the book of Esther accompanied by merriment and noisemaking to blot out the name of Haman. They will send presents of food to one another, give gifts to the poor, make a Purim feast, and make fun of traditions and sacred texts. This rite of spring gives us a chance to break out, to Read More >

13 02, 2014

Hanukkah

By Rabbi Len Levin|2014-02-13T11:34:35-05:00February 13, 2014|

Hanukkah

by Rabbi Len Levin

Why do we celebrate Hanukkah? Why is it not commemorated in the Bible or in the Mishnah? And what lessons does it have for our time?

Hanukkah commemorates the clash of Judaism with the dominant Hellenistic civilization of late antiquity. Not only did the Syrian king Antiochus seek to impose pagan worship on the Jews; there were also Jews who actively sought to blend entirely into that civilization. Males disguised their circumcision in order to compete naked in the gymnasium. The Temple was converted into a pagan temple and a pig was offered on the altar. There was the real danger that the practice of Judaism would come to an end.

The Maccabees led a successful revolt, drove out the Syrians, and rededicated the Temple. “Hanukkah” means “dedication” and its name derives from that event.

But the struggle did not end there. The descendants of the Maccabees, the Hasmoneans, founded a dynasty. Read More >

28 03, 2013

Passover

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2013-03-28T10:24:43-04:00March 28, 2013|

By Rabbi Isaac Mann

Freedom From or Freedom To

The Pesah holiday is referred to in our liturgy as zman heruteinu, the time of our freedom. The reference is of course to our freedom from Egypt, our release from slavery. Interestingly, the word heruteinu or any form thereof does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. The standard Biblical word for freedom in its root form, especially freedom from slavery, is hofesh, as in Ex. 21:2, where the Torah instructs us that a slave shall work for six years and go out to freedom (yezei la-hofshi) in the seventh. We also find the word dror used in the general sense of freedom or liberty, as in Lev. 25:10, which is the source for the famous quote on the Liberty Bell – “Proclaim liberty (dror) throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The Biblical words hofesh and dror were ignored by 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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