The parsha that we read this week is called Kedushim which is plural for the verb, “To separate,” or, “To make/be holy.” The parsha begins with haShem (god) speaking to Moshe (Moses) and telling him to speak to the entire nation of the children of Yisrael and tell them that they will be holy because, “I, haShem, your god/powers, is holy.” We then read that we should be in awe/fear of our father and mother and observe the shabbats – … Continue reading
This week we take a break from our regularly scheduled parsha (weekly Torah reading) and read about Pesach (Passover). Last year I shared some insights on Passover and you can read them here. This year I want to share a story. It takes place a few hundred years ago in a small town in Russia. It was your usual Jewish village with a rabbi and a couple of beggars, lots of children and poor people, and a wealthy miser. This … Continue reading
How interesting is it that just days before we leave Egypt, we read about how the cohen gadol (high priest) atones for everybody’s sins, ie. we read about the yom kippur service. Why? Well, if I tell you now, you might not read the rest of this email, and then you might miss out on one or two other juicy tidbits. 🙂 So, let’s get to it, shall we? The parsha (weekly Torah portion) from last week is called Acharai … Continue reading
This week we complete a topic we started last week: Tzaarat. it is a spiritual affliction with physical components and its symptoms can appear on human flesh, leather, wool, linen, and even on the walls of a house. Last week, the Torah talked about how to recognize it on a person and on a person’s clothing. This week the Torah talks about how a person heals from Tzaarat and also how to recognize it in a house and how to … Continue reading