By Naomi Gurt Lind Parashat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8) By the time we chant Parashat Ki Tavo in synagogue this Shabbat—with its ritual enumeration of blessings and curses, and its passage of rebuke so excruciating we traditionally read it in a voice barely above a murmur—my elder son, blessing of my heart, should be safely back at college for another year. As I write this now, he is still in my home for just another few days, already dreaming of rejoining his friends... Read more

By Jessica Spencer Parashat Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19) How long does it take to belong somewhere? How many generations pass before the actions of your ancestors no longer matter? Ki Teitzei discusses who is allowed to marry into the Jewish people: לֹא־תְתַעֵב אֲדֹמִי כִּי אָחִיךָ הוּא לֹא־תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי־גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ: בָּנִים אֲשֶׁר־יִוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם דּוֹר שְׁלִישִׁי יָבֹא לָהֶם בִּקְהַל יְהֹוָה׃ Do not hate an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not hate an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in... Read more

By Rabbi Becky Silverstein  Parashat Re’eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17) Figuring out how to be an adult who is also my parent’s child is one of the most challenging aspects of this season of my life. I find myself at once holding the vision of children as being young people, playing with bubbles or playing in a playground, while also acknowledging the journeys of self-actualization, boundary-setting, and intimacy that come with being someone’s child. Given this current reality, it is unsurprising that I... Read more

Parashat Vaetchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11) I have a tendency to think of all the worst case scenarios that might come up in any given situation. Going beyond protectiveness and anxiety, my precautions tend to veer onto the side of severe. Once a troubling thought grips me, I find it difficult to be rid of its grasp—even for a moment. Once, while listening to me express my fears over a given situation, a friend responded with the simple words: “But what if everything... Read more

By Jayce Koester Parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22) It is the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year in the desert. We have stopped on the edge of the river, and on the other side is the land G!d has promised us. Instead of shouldering our packs and making bittersweet goodbyes between those who will stay and those who will go, we stop. We gather around Moshe and he begins to tell us a story. It’s familiar in many... Read more