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Be Careful What You Ask For By Gary A. Kabler In this week's portion the people complain to Moses that the manna that G-d has provided so abundantly for them to eat no longer satisfies them. Like petulant children, the people whine, "If we only had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we Read More >

Perception vs. Reality By Rabbi Sharon Ballan One of my favorite television shows when I was growing up was "All in the Family." I distinctly remember sneaking out of bed and watching secretly from the top of the stairway, because it was shown past my bedtime. Later, my parents let me watch with them and Read More >

By Boaz Marmon"Can you hear them? They talk about us, telling lies - well, that's no surprise." This is the first verse, not of Parashat Korah, but of the Go-Go's' 1982 hit "Our lips are sealed" (you may be familiar with a recent cover by Hilary and Haylie Duff). I doubt that Belinda and the Read More >

Judaism’s Prime Directive By Irwin Huberman There have been many attempts in our tradition to boil down the entire Torah into one clear directive. Over the generations, Jews and those from other faiths have wrestled with the difficult question, “what exactly does God want from me?” The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells the story of three Read More >

By Julius Rabinowitz Pinhas, the son of Elazar the son of Aaron, got up and took a spear in his hand and ran it through Zimri, the son of a chieftain from the tribe of Simon, and Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of the Midianites. What was their heinous crime that deserved such punishment: Read More >

By Jill Hackell After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites are poised to cross the Jordan River, and to enter the Promised Land. In the previous parashah, Pinhas, a census of all individuals is taken, and Moses begins the transfer of authority to Joshua, who will lead the people in this next Read More >

Shabbat Hazon – Sabbath of Vision By Jill Minkoff Vision – This week’s Sabbath is Shabbat Hazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We read Isaiah 1:1-27. The selection of this Haftarah sets the stage for our observance and memories of Tisha B’Av (rather than for its connection to the Parashat HaShavuah). It begins with the word: Read More >

Comfort, Oh Comfort! By Hazzan Marcia Lane I just got back from Israel. A friend, who has never been there, asked me, “Were you okay? Did you feel comfortable everywhere?” The nature of the question is similar to one that was posed to me right here in my home-town of Long Branch, NJ: “I parked Read More >

By Rabbi Dorit Edut There is a juxtaposition of two verses in this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which relate very well to a modern-day phenomenon. Moses, just prior to his death, exhorts the People of Israel to stop blocking themselves from belief in and loyalty to God (Deuteronomy 10:16): Cut away, therefore, the thickening about Read More >

By Simon Rosenbach This week we sort of read, as we sort of read every year, the first version of the Tokhehah, a list of threats that God has Moses deliver to the children of Israel. These threats are so dire ("you will eat the flesh of your children" - Lev. 26:29) that they are Read More >