Welcome to the Hanukah parsha (Torah portion of the week). Isn’t it funny that we always happen to read this same parsha every time Shabbat falls during Hanukah? I wonder how that happens? 😉 Anyway, the parsha is called Meekaytz which means, “From the end,” as in, “And it was from the end of two years…” which is how the parsha begins. Essentially we are two years after the cup-bearer gets his job back and Yoseph has been forgotten in … Continue reading
Come on in, the water’s great! Just don’t forget to thank our host. This is how our parsha (weekly Torah portion) starts out. The parsha is called Key Tavoh which means, “Because you will come,” and begins by saying that because you will be coming in to the land haShem (god) promised to give you, you should take the first fruits of the ground and bring them to haShem’s house. We then read of the thanksgiving ritual we do with … Continue reading
We are coming down to the wire and the Torah portions are fast and furious. This week we read from the parsha (Torah portion) called Key taytzay which means when you go out. Our parsha starts out talking about what happens when we go out to war and find a beautiful woman among the captives. This leads into a bit regarding a man having two wives, one whom he loves and the other he hates, and if the hated wife’s … Continue reading
Hello and welcome to the latest installment of my Torah thoughts. This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Balak who is the current king of Moab. Our parsha begins with Balak seeing all that Yisrael had done to the Emorite (which comes from the root, “To say”) and Moab becomes afraid. So, Balak sends messengers to Bil’am asking him to bore into Yisrael so Balak can drive them from the land. He calls for Bil’am because what Bil’am blesses is … 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
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Toldot (generations in English). Let’s look at what this word, generations, means. Generations implies cycles, and cycles are circles. Each generation is born, lives, and dies. That is its cycle or circle. However, before a generation dies, it creates a new generation, turning the circle into a spiral. I find it strange to call this parsha Generations when most of this parsha talks of one generation and prior parshas have also mentioned lineages … Continue reading