Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

Recently a Rabbi told our students that addressing loneliness was the most important part of his job. I was struck because he was saying an emotion rather than an issue like Israel, Anti-Semitism, or Jewish literacy was the key Jewish problem in his community. Read more...

The great Israeli author, Shai Agnon, related a fable about a little boy and his old father, who together tended a goat. Each day the goat wandered off, to return at evening, its udders filled with the sweetest of milk. The boy wished to know where the goat went and on what grass it grazed, to give such extraordinarily sweet milk, so he tied a string to the goat's tail and followed. Over hills and through forests they went, until they descended into a dark cave. Down a long, winding path the goat led the boy. Finally, they emerged into the light. Read more...

In Parshat Shmini's long enumeration of the forbidden bird species, the Torah declares the stork to be unkosher. This would be an entirely unremarkable fact - who would eat a stork anyway-- if not for the strange name these birds are given in ancient Hebrew. The stork is called hasidah, coming from the word hesed, meaning compassion or kindness. We are familiar with the Torah's general prohibition on "birds of prey," but what is it about this "bird of kindness" that renders it ritually unfit? 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...

I love Shabbat. I really do. Most weeks, I find myself counting the days, anticipating Shabbat, making plans, and eagerly awaiting the impending rest, relaxation, prayer, and communal connections. But, this week as Shabbat approaches, I find I am thinking less of Shabbat and a whole lot more about Pesach which will begin on Monday night. After all, this is but one of 52 Shabbatot during the year, so there will be many others. Pesach, on the other hand, comes but once a year. Read more...