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
We start this week’s parsha (Torah portion) with Moshe (Moses) being told by haShem (god) to come to Pharaoh. What a strange request! This however is the launching point for a wild exploration of the relationship between Moshe, haShem, and Pharaoh. Before I get into it, I want to give a quick overview of the parsha so we are all on the same page. As I said the parsha starts with haShem telling Moshe to come to Pharaoh. He also … Continue reading
Happy Hanukah and welcome to my world of Torah ideas. This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is always read on the Shabbat of Hanukah. One aspect of Hanukah is about bringing light into the darkness, and the parsha, and Yoseph (Joseph) in particular, is all about waking people up from their darkness, so they can fix the things that they need to fix. In the parlance of the tradition, Yoseph is all about doing tshuvah (literally an answer or to turn, … Continue reading
Passover has come and gone. It was the start of a journey. And Shavuot (this Wednesday, May 15) is the ending of that journey and the beginning of a new and improved journey. It is the day that we receive Divine revelation. It is the day that we start to see our hard work over the last several months start to manifest in this world. It is the day we bring those first fruits to the temple, that sacred space … Continue reading
First, what is an Omer? And why do we count them? And how does counting these… omers lead to self improvement (which I am implying by the title of this post)? The answer to the first two questions are easy. Omer is the Hebrew word for a sheaf of grain. The main Jewish sacred text, the Torah, tells us that we should bring sheaves of barley to the sacred place, the place where the divine infinite safely intersects our finite … Continue reading
Why is Pesach (Passover) 7 days? We have the first night seder meal, and then the next day (the first day of Pesach), we leave Egypt. Done. Why drag it out? The only thing I can think is that there must be something that happens on the 7th day that is at least as important. Let’s see… according to the Torah, we leave Egypt and travel 3 days and then turn around and back-track for 3 days until we come … Continue reading
Tuesday starts the Jewish month of Nisan. This is the month of spring, the month of freedom. In 2 weeks we celebrate Pesach (Passover), the time we left Egypt and slavery. However, that is not the only thing to celebrate during this month. According to our tradition, Moshe (Moses) puts up the mishcan (tabernacle) on the first day of Nisan… which just happens to be… Today! The mishcan is a special structure that allows for the infinite creator to be … 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
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