Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

On Veterans Day, we honor the veterans who served our nation and recognize those who have made personal sacrifices for our country and fought for our shared values. Other nations and times in history have seen mandatory conscription to the armed forces, but today the United States is blessed to have a volunteer military corps. While this reality is a blessing to those citizens for whom military service is not a personal ambition, it is also a reality that creates a divide of experience between civilians and service members, both past and present. Read more...

Simchat Torah is a holiday of re-reading. We complete our annual cycle and begin again with the Story of Creation. I am a big re-reader. I love returning to the texts that move me most and discovering in them new resonance based on the state of my life or the state of our world. Read more...

After two days of Rosh Ha-Shanah and a day of fasting on Yom Kippur, you would think that Jews would be exhausted.  Enough Judaism, already! Yet at precisely that time, the calendar of Judaism presents a dazzling array of festivals--Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah, Sh'mini Atzeret, and Simhat Torah.  For more than a week, we continue to celebrate one holiday after another, each with its own set of rituals, songs, and customs. Read more...

A few weeks ago, I was part of a rabbinic court (beit din) for someone who was converting to Judaism.  In his essay to describe his journey to Judaism, he mentioned that he had grown up as a Protestant Christian.  During the conversation, I mentioned that the High Holy Days were coming and asked him what he thought their meaning was.  He rightfully said that they were a very serious time when we are prompted to evaluate what we have done in the past year, seek forgiveness from anyone we have wronged, and plan ways to improve our relationships with others and with God Read more...

On what day was the world created? The answer is not as obvious as we might like to think. We are told in Exodus 12:2 that Nissan is the first month. And yet we also refer to the first of Tishrei as Rosh haShanah, the beginning of the year. Read more...