Recent Weekly Torah
The Hand That Does Not Reach
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
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Wine, Wisdom, and Wonder
Judaism is a religion of faith. It is also a religion of behavior – and not just in contemporary
times, but in ancient days and everlasting. In this week’s Torah portion, Shemini, the Torah
says: “And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: Drink no wine or other intoxicants, you or your
sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die. This is a law for all time
throughout the ages, for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and
between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which the
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Commanded and Connected
“And God spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Command your brother and his sons regarding the Torah of the offerings.” (Leviticus 6:1-2)
Mitzvah is one of the foundational words of Jewish life. Its root comes from the verb which is the name of this week’s parasha: Tzav, “command.” Despite its colloquial usage as “good deed,” mitzvah really means “commandment”—a holy edict, meant to give shape and substance to what it means to live as a member of the Jewish covenant.
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Releasing Our Past, Embracing Our Future
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The Blessings of Completion
“And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks – as the Lord had commanded, so they had done – Moses blessed them.” (Exodus 39:43)
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