“The priest shall then offer the purification offering and make expiation for the one being purified of his impurity…Then he shall be pure.”  (Leviticus 14:19-20) Read more...

We like to think of childbirth as miraculous and joyful (which we certainly hope it will be), but it is also a bloody, painful, and sometimes dangerous process. Even today, after the advent of modern medicine, women continue to face perilous complications and even the risk of death during pregnancy and labor. It is thus not surprising, at least to me, that in the biblical world – as we see in Chap. 12 of Leviticus, the opening of this week’s parashah, Tazriah – that giving birth was a source Read more...

Each year, a few days before each of my children's birthdays, a package arrives at the door from Louise, my former congregant. Inside the package are two wrapped presents - one to the child whose birthday is coming and one to the sibling. The present for the birthday child has a card saying "Happy Birthday" from Louise and the present to the sibling has a card which says "Happy Un-Birthday" from Louise. The "un-birthday" present is typically small in size - such as alphabet stamps or a book - but its impact on my family has been immense. Read more...

"Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a woman gives birth...." (Leviticus 12:2) "This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you." (Exodus 12:2) This week's Torah readings, including the weekly one and the special one to mark the beginning of the month of Nisan this coming week, the month of Passover, focus on beginnings - the beginning of a new life, and the beginning of the calendar and the Jewish people. What do beginnings mean for us? Read more...

Think about a time in your life when you felt excluded or left out of a community or group. Perhaps you excluded yourself, or perhaps others excluded you. Remember your thoughts and your feelings. Did you ask for help? Did you want someone to reach out to you, to stretch out a hand, to bring you back in? Read more...