Last week was the beginning of our fearless heroes try to break the iron clasp of Pharaoh, king of Egypt! The Torah left us with our fearless leader, Moshe (Moses) asking haShem (god) what good he was doing, and haShem replying to just wait and see; the fun is about to begin. Well, the fun begins in this week’s parsha (Torah portion) which is called Va-ayra which means, “And I appeared.” It starts with god telling Moshe that he appeared … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is a strange one. Moshe (Moses) sends 12 men into the land to spy on it and its inhabitants. They come out and their report causes a national hysteria which leads to a 40 year sojourn in the desert until all the men die off. The Torah then goes into a discussion about sacrifices, and we finish with a man getting stoned to death for breaking shabbat and a law regarding the wearing of tzitzit … Continue reading
Tonight is a peaceful night after a beautiful day here in Eugene. This shabbat (Saturday) we read a parsha (weekly Torah portion) called Emor which means, “Tell.” Why? Because the parsha begins with haShem (god) telling Moshe (Moses) to TELL to the priests, the sons of Aharon a whole lot of things such as not to become tamae (mixed) by the soul of a member of the nation. The implication here is that the soul means when a person dies … Continue reading
This week we have another of our famous double parshas (weekly Torah readings) and it is called Tazria-Metzora. Tazria is the name of the first parsha and means, “She will cause seed to be sewn.” Metzora is the name of the second parsha and refers to a person who has Tzaraat which is a spiritual malady and often mistranslated as leprosy. Seeing as we had our first double parsha a few weeks ago, I think I will go straight into … Continue reading
The parsha (weekly Torah portion) for this week is called Shmini and means, “8th,” as in the eighth day after Aharon and his sons began their initiation ritual. I find it very interesting that this is the first time we have moved beyond a concept of seven days. Seven is the directions: north, east, south, west, up, down, and center. It is also the number of days god took to create the world. So it represents the physical world or … 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
The parsha (weekly Torah portion) is called Tzav which is the verb, “To command,” and one of the roots of the word mitzvah (or commandment). The parsha starts with god telling Moshe (Moses) to command Aharon and his sons on the laws of the olah offering – the olah offering on the flame of the altar all night until morning. The priests, who are Aharon and his sons, are then told how to deal with the ashes from the altar, … Continue reading
This week we start the third of the five books of haShem’s (god) words as scribed by Moshe (Moses). The book, and the parsha (weekly Torah portion) that we read are called vayikra which means, “And he called,” as in, “And he called to Moshe and haShem spoke to him,” which is how our parsha starts. God is calling to Moshe to tell the people about offerings or sacrifices. First we read that the acceptable animals that a person can … Continue reading
This week begins the season of double parshas (weekly Torah portions). For those of you asking yourselves what I am talking about, let me explain. The calender of the family of Yisrael is lunar based meaning that each month begins with the sighting of the new moon. Ordinarily, the year has twelve of these months. However, haShem (god) mentions that the month that includes the holiday of Pesach (Passover) is the month of spring. So, to keep the month of … 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