I hope everybody is doing well. This week we finish the book of Genesis or Breisheit as it is referred to in Hebrew. We also saw the end of Jacob/Israel and Yoseph. Before Israel passes from us, however, he does give us some final pointers on how to interact with people. The parsha (weekly Torah portion) starts out with Yaakov/Jacob knowing he is near death and so he asks his son Yoseph to swear to bury him at the ancestral … Continue reading
Hi everybody. I hope this finds you all in good health and good spirits. The portion of the torah that we read this week is a continuation of Yaakov’s (Jacob) journey to becoming Israel. It includes the reconciliation of him and his brother Esau, and the destruction of the city of Schem, the death of Yaakov’s parents and his wife Rachel, and ends with Esau moving to make room for Yaakov, which is followed by a strange, repetitive listing of … Continue reading
When I was growing up, I could not wait for the 4th of July. I loved firing off fireworks. Yes, I was a bit of a pyro in my youth. The fireworks were fun to watch. But it was the lighting I really liked. The main way we celebrate Independence day in the United States is with fireworks. Some might say it is a bbq too. However, plenty of people don’t bbq. They go to a ball game and watch … Continue reading
Hello everyone, Welcome to the whacky world of Torah where things are not as they seem. This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion), at the beginning, seems one way, and then ends another way. It is called Balak, and we start talking a lot about him. That, however, is only to introduce our main character Bilim, who is hired to curse the children of Israel. However, he tells his employer, Balak, that he will only do what haShem (god) tells him. … Continue reading
Hello folks and welcome to the latest installment of ideas I have had or heard regarding the weekly torah portion… This week’s parsha (portion) jumps 38 years as we go into the last year of being in the wilderness. However, before we get there, we read about how the ashes of a red cow can make a not pure person pure while making a pure person not pure. Right after the details on how this process works, we read about … Continue reading
[Editor’s note: I originally wrote this in 2004, for an email list regarding the weekly Torah portion. I deliberately put it out after shabbat because, the energy of the parsha does not end with shabbat – it only starts to wane with the ending of shabbat. Think of the shabbat as the full moon for the parsha. It builds starting Wednesday until shabbat where it is at maximum strength. Then, after shabbat, the energy of the parsha wanes as the … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (weekly torah portion) is yet another double parsha, and it is a strange one. Nevertheless, it is one I like because it also gives us some hope and gives us some answers; it is a parsha for everybody. The beginning of the parsha is what I would show to anyone who thinks that the Torah is not pro-environment, for it talks about resting the land and it talks about human rights and welfare. For the people concerned … Continue reading
At last we are getting to the weekly Torah portion (parsha) called Shmini. I say, “At last,” because our parsha has been preempted, for the last two shabbats, by the holy days involved with our becoming a people: Pesach (Passover). Shmini is an interesting parsha, recounting the first sacrifices made by the newly anointed priests in the newly created mishcan (tabernacle). At the climax, after haShem (god/dess) comes down on the people and eats the sacrifices, two of Aharon’s … Continue reading
Last week I did not write anything on the parsha (weekly Torah portion) because the parsha was a special one for Pesach (Passover). Perhaps I should have written about Pesach instead, for that is what the parsha was about. I was very busy cleaning my house of chometz (leavening), and myself of ego. This is one of the traditions I learned while I was in Israel: chometz is created by yeast eating the sugar in the grains and producing CO2, … Continue reading
Last week started the Jewish month of Nissan. And it continues through April 22nd this year. I mention this because Nissan is a very special month. The Torah refers to it as the month of spring. It is for this reason we have leap year in the Jewish calendar: the month of Nissan must always be in the spring. Because Nissan is the month of spring, it is given a special honor: it is the month that we bless the … Continue reading