This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion) is called, “Key tisa,” which literally means, “That you will raise.” The verse continues with, “The heads of the children of Yisrael to redeem them and give a man atonement of his soul to haShem (god) in redeeming them and there will not be in them a plague in their redemption.” Basically we are talking here of the first census of the people, but I do find it interesting that the raising of the … Continue reading
So this is Purim. Say, didn’t John Lennon sing that? Maybe it was something close. Today is Purim. What is Purim? The Hebrew word translates to lots (like a lottery), because the villain picked lots to determine when his decree against the Jews would take effect. But that is just a small part of this holiday. Here is another way to look at Purim. For me, Purim is the gift of a day to see god hiding in the world. … Continue reading
Once again it is time for our visit with the parsha (weekly Torah portion). The parsha for this week is called T’tzveh which can mean you will command and/or you will join. The parsha starts with haShem (god) talking to Moshe (Moses) and saying, “Atah t’tzveh,” or, “You will command/connect the children of Yisrael and they will take to you pure pressed olive oil for lighting the eternal candle.” One shabbat a few years back, someone pointed out that this … Continue reading
The name of the parsha (weekly Torah portion) we read this week is called Trumah. I received a request (Hi mom) 🙂 to include the name of the weekly parsha, so there it is. The parshas take their name from the first significant word found in them. The word, “Trumah,” has as its root the word, “Rom,” which means to raise up, and is the word used to designate certain tithes that only the priests (cohanim in Hebrew) and their … Continue reading
This week we read a parsha (weekly Torah portion) called Mishpatim, which means sentences in Hebrew. The word can be used just like the English word; for both a sentence like the one you are reading, or what a judge pronounces. In the parsha it is used in the latter way, for the parsha Mishpatim is almost all about laws concerning how to live. First, we read about how to treat a Hebrew slave. We then read of laws regarding … Continue reading
What an exciting shabbat we are going to have this shabbat! The parsha (weekly Torah portion) we will read includes haShem (god) actually talking to us. Imagine being in a group of 600,000+ looking up from the base of a smoking, shuddering mountain, with the sounds of shofars (ram’s horn horns) trumpeting, and hearing/seeing the voice of god talking to each and every one of us… However, I get ahead of myself, for this is near the end of the … Continue reading
One of my teachers, R. Raz Hartman gave over the following in a class several years ago. I hope I do it justice, and that you enjoy it. Before I start, I want to share a few basics. For those of you who know this already, please bear with me. According to our family tradition, our man Moshe (Moses) went up on Mt. Sinai and received the Torah. What he received was not just the written Torah, but also an … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) was made for all the musicians in the audience. In it we find Miriam striking up the band as we sing the song of freedom after crossing through the Yam Soof (Sea of Reeds). However, I am getting a little ahead of myself. First, we’ve got to get there, and then we can sing, and then continue on our merry (?) journey to a date with the divine itself. Our parsha starts out by reminding … Continue reading
One way to look at shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) is that it is the completion of a 7 day cycle, and when it is over, we start a new cycle. Another way to look at it is to think of it as the moon. What I mean by this is that Wednesday is like the dark moon, and the energy of shabbat starts to grow and shine stronger and stronger as we go into Thursday and Friday, and is at … Continue reading
We are almost at the end of the Jewish month of Tevat, getting ready to go into the month of Shvat, and we find ourselves in the throws of the 10 plagues that god has sent against Egypt. How did we find ourselves in such a predicament? We are here because god won’t allow Pharaoh to let a bunch of slaves go out on a 3 day journey to make a sacrifice to their god. What in the world is … Continue reading