The AJR Center for Judaism and Science has an annual competition for the best student D’var Torah infused with science. Click here to view the entries that have won our לדעת חכמה (Lada’at Hokhmah) Award.
The Many “Faces” of Silence
April 21, 2025
Rabbi Marge Wise
Parashat Shemini doesn’t lack for themes but the one which stood out for me as I began to prepare this D’var Torah is one that “speaks” to me every year when we read this parashah – namely, the theme of silence. Although Aaron’s silence is of course in an almost inconceivably tragic context all its own, I’ve been recalling and searching for other instances of silence in the Bible and in contemporary literature as well as in the area of mourning practices. An example in the latter category is Chaim Potok’s well-known book, The Chosen, which powerfully and poignantly explores the theme of silence between fathers and sons. Rabbi Harold Kushner also explores the concept of silence in his widely-read book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In it, he deals with the role of silence in understanding suffering and in searching for meaning in life. In response to grief and misery, Kushner believed that silence can...
Pesah 5785
April 15, 2025
Rabbi Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak ('16)
Normally I look forward to my trips to Israel with much anticipation and excitement. Even following the horrific attack of October 7, and with an ongoing war, I was still looking forward to being with my people.
Parashat Tzav -5785
April 7, 2025
Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR '15)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav By Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR ’15) One of the beautiful and amazing things about Torah study is that every time I encounter a parashah, I see something I hadn’t noticed before. This year is no different. As I began reading Parashat Tzav, where Moses is told to command–Tzav–Aaron to keep a perpetual fire–an aish tamid–burning on the altar all night until morning, I noticed that this requirement is mentioned three times in the first six verses. I also noticed that not only does the Torah command us to eat matza brie, the “recipe” is included: עַֽל־ מַחֲבַ֗ת בַּשֶּׁ֛מֶן תֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה מֻרְבֶּ֣כֶת תְּבִיאֶ֑נָּה תֻּפִינֵי֙ מִנְחַ֣ת פִּתִּ֔ים תַּקְרִ֥יב רֵֽיחַ־נִיחֹ֖חַ לה’׃ “On a griddle, with oil, it is to be made, well-stirred are you to bring it, as baked crumbled-bits of grain you are to bring-it-near, a soothing savor for YHWH.” (Lev. 6:14, Fox Translation). Somewhere along the line I got the idea that verse 6:1,...
Parashat Vayikra – 5785
March 31, 2025
Rena Kieval
Receiving the Call A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayikra By Rabbi Rena Kieval (AJR ’06) It begins with a call. We are at the center of the Torah, the Book of Leviticus, and Moshe has just overseen the elaborate construction of the mishkan. Now that the sanctuary is complete, God will relay to Moshe and to the kohanim, in painstaking detail, the rituals and rules to be practiced in that sacred space. But first, there is a call to Moshe, a call which gives this book of the Torah and this parashah their name, Vayikra. Why the call? What does it mean to us to be called? Many of us have felt called to serve, to carry out a specific role, or called more generally to be our best selves. Who, or what, calls us, and how do we receive that call? Two curious features in the opening verse of our parashah help us explore these questions. The first verse of our parashah contains...
Parashat Pekudei – 5785
March 24, 2025
Cantor Robin Anne Joseph (’96)
Both Sides Now A D’var Torah for Parashat Pekudei By Cantor Robin Anne Joseph Let’s look at clouds. From all sides now. Shall we? Clouds are—what? The presence of God? A cover for God? A signal from God? In Parashat Pekudei, they are D) All of the above. And then some. One cloud in particular makes a brief, but spectacular, cameo appearance as the curtain comes down on the second “act” (Book) of the Five Books of Moses. Not just any cloud, not just a cloud, but The Cloud (הֶעָנָ֖ן). As much a supporting actor in the Torah as anyone (or anything) else, I’m continually surprised not to see the word “cloud” capitalized in the English translation whenever the article “the” precedes it. This is not the first time that The Cloud has made an appearance in the Torah. As early as in the Book of Genesis, when God makes a covenant, a Brit, with Noah to never again destroy the earth...
