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By Peggy de Prophetis This D'var Torah is dedicated to Rabbi Stephen Grundfast, an AJR alumnus, who taught me Torah trope and set me on this path. 'You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and petals shall be Read More >

Urim and Tummim By Charles Lightner Parashat Tetzaveh opens with the requirement of the ner tamid (continuously illuminating lamp), and it closes with the commandment of the ketoret tamid (continuously burning incense). Between those two commandments the text contains eight additional references to things that are to be done 'continuously' or 'eternally.' While it could Read More >

From Proverbs to Exodus and Back Again By Anne Heath Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, So is a wise man's reproof in a listening ear. Proverbs 25:12 A mochiakh chakham'a wise judger, a wise reprover, a wise man's reproof'is to the listening ear at a moral level as a Read More >

On Endings, Beginnings and Tikkun ha-Olam: A-HA Experience at AJR By Peg Kershenbaum Vayar Elohim et-kol-asher asah v'hinei-tov m'od; vay'hi-erev vay'hi-voqer yom hashishi And God saw all that He had made. And behold: it was very good! And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Gen. 1:31) We begin anew the hora Read More >

What Was Missing in This Family Parshat HaShavua, 22nd Heshvan 5765 By Dorit Edut When someone in our family or circle of friends dies, we are often left feeling that there is a huge gap in our lives that can never be filled. It is a time of reflecting about the qualities of this person Read More >

Parashat Aharei Mot/Kedoshim: The Lingering Pain of Loss By Eleanor Pearlman The beginning of the parashah (Torah portion) of Aharei Mot/Kedoshim begins with the words, Vay'hi aharei mot (After the death) - in reference to Nadav and Avihu, two of the sons of Aaron. These deaths occurred in Parashat Shemini, three parshiot before our current Read More >

By Michael Kohn Vayehi is the final parashah of Sefer Bereshit and brings to a close not only the lives of Jacob and Joseph but the narrative of the Patriarchs as well. It is a major transition point in the Torah narrative, inasmuch as the second chapter of Sefer Shemot begins with the birth of Read More >

By Suri Krieger So, it seems that God has appointed me, Betzalel, to be master craftsman of the Mishkan, the holy sanctuary! Oh my God, how daunting! May I be worthy of the task. The Task'let's see here, what specs do we have on the list: a Tent of meeting, cherub'embroidered curtains, a number of Read More >

Saying I'm Sorry By Michael G. Kohn Spring has arrived in New York. Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote: 'In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.' And the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.' How do we show our love of Read More >

Making Your Guilty Conscience Holy By Hayley Mica Einhorn In this week's parashah, Tzav, the Kohanim are commanded to make a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sin offering, a guilt offering, and a sacrifice of well-being to HaShem (God). The Torah tells us that, 'The guilt offering is like the sin-offering. The same rule Read More >