Parsha Naso: A Torah of Blessing

This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Naso which means to raise up or carry.  This is because the parsha begins with haShem telling Moshe (Moses) to raise up the heads of the children of Garshone to count/redeem them.  Specifically, we are talking of those between 30 and 50 who will come to do the work of the tent of meeting. This is a continuation from the previous parsha, which ended with a count of one of the three families … Continue reading

Parsha B’meedbar: Foundation and Gratitude in Torah

Welcome to the wilderness.  This is the name of the 4th book in the Torah that we started to read this week.  It is also the name of this weeks parsha (Torah portion).  In Hebrew, we would pronounce it b’meedbar.  The other name for this book is Numbers because this is the book where we count the number of people who heard the, “Word of god.” Enough of the theatrics, let’s delve into the book and the parsha.  We start … Continue reading

Parsha B’chukoti: See the Picture in the Torah?

Well it is time again to take a look at the this week’s parsha (Torah portion). This week we say goodbye, not just to a parsha, but also to a book; we finish reading the third book of the Bible, Vayikra (Leviticus). The parsha is called B’chukoti which means, “In my laws,” as in, “If in-my-laws you-all will go,” which is how the parsha begins. So, what happens if we go in haShem’s (god) laws? This is such a good … Continue reading

Parsha B’har: Torah Gets Things Out of Time and Space

Hello friends and neighbors, This week, we read the second to last parsha (Torah portion) in the book of Vayikra (Leviticus).  This parsha is called B’har which means, “On the mountain.”  It is referring to Mount Sinai, which we see from the first verse that reads:  And haShem (god) spoke to Moshe (Mses) on mount Sinai saying…” So, what does god tell Moshe to say?  He told him to tell the children of Yisrael how to treat the land that … Continue reading

Parsha Emor: Torah – How to be an Intimate Witness

This Shabbat we read a parsha that is near and dear to my heart.  It is called Emor which means, “You will say.”  It is called Emor because the parsha begins with haShem (god) telling Moshe (Moses), “You will say to the cohanim (priests), the children of Aharon…”  What makes this parsha near and dear to me is that the first part of it is all about the priesthood, and since my great, great…great granddaddy was Aharon, it has special … Continue reading