Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

This week, as I prepare to travel to Israel, I am conscious as I always am when traveling to a country whose primary language is not English, of the importance of language.  Even with the function of the Hebrew I have learned over the years, there inevitably comes those moments when a single word makes all the difference in my ability to articulate my thoughts and/or my Israeli friends’ ability to understand my words.  (How much more so in a place whose language I am not as familiar with as I am Hebrew.) One missing word, one wrong word, one misused word – one word can change the Read more...

I remember a regular spring ritual when I was still a congregational rabbi. The event took place on a Sunday morning, as I and thirty eager people would drive down to Laguna Beach. Not to play volleyball, and not to bask in the glorious California sunshine. Our purpose was much more sacred and venerable than all that. These 30 people were among the 100 students who had completed my Introduction to Judaism class, and were now intent on converting to Judaism. Read more...

This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nahamu - the Shabbat of comfort or consolation. Named for the first word of the Haftarah, it speaks of the prophetic vision of Isaiah of the anticipated consolation after the destruction of the First Temple: "Nahamu, Nahamu ami - Comfort, comfort my people, so says your God." Read more...

After the Israelites sin at Baal-Pe’or, God lashes out in anger, ordering Moses to "Take all the heads of the people and have them publicly impaled."   Before Moses can act on God's command, a leading Israelite named Zimri and a leading Midianite woman named Cozbi enter the sacred site of the Tent of Meeting and there, before the entire people, begin to copulate.  This arrogant escalation of sin inflames Pinhas, the leader of the Levitical guards, who grabs a spear and impales the two sinners.  Read more...

One of the sad realities of life in the suburbs is that every neighborhood looks just like every other neighborhood: If it's not a home, it's a mall.  If it's not a mall, it's a shopping center.  Everything we build in the burbs is beautiful, clean, and lacking personality.  Spatial distinctions, where one city ends and the next one begins, are visible only on maps or signs, because, frankly, they all look alike.  The same malls, homes, developments, and roads impose a deadening sameness over the vast tracts of American space. Read more...