By Rabbi Daniel Klein Parashat Dvarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22) As we begin the Book of Deuteronomy this week, the fifth and final book of the Torah, we greet the Israelites triumphant. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they are finally on the threshold of entering the Promised Land. It is an extraordinary moment of accomplishment. And yet, as Moses begins his final, book length soliloquy to prepare the people for their new lives in the Land of Israel, he... Read more
By Rabbi Ebn Leader Parashat Matot Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13) With Parashat Masei—The Journeys—the Torah concludes the story of the Israelite people. While the Torah includes one more book, dedicated almost entirely to the parting words and death of Moshe, the story of the people ends here, in the plains of Moav. The vision of a promised land is central to the biblical story beginning with the narratives of the ancestors in Bereshit. Still, this “allotted haven” (Devarim 12:9) is never reached. (This is true of... Read more
By Rabbi Jessica Kate Meyer Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1) The transmission and transition of leadership from one generation to the next is ritualized in Parashat Pinchas. Moshe stands Joshua before Elazar, the High Priest, and before the entire male Israelite community. He lays his hands on Joshua in the original act of semicha, symbolically placing leadership on his shoulders. According to the 19th century rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (known as The Netziv), through this act of semicha, Moshe filled... Read more
By Rabbi Tyler Dratch Parashat Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) There’s an image that has been floating through my mind these weeks, as I try to reflect on all of the turbulence that continues to inundate our country and our world. It is a picture taken in 2017 at a golf course in Washington State. In the picture, wildfires have set a once lush forest ablaze; fire, smoke, and ashes dominate the background. And in the foreground of the picture, three men... Read more
By Naomi Gurt Lind Parashat Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1) There is nothing like preparing to send your firstborn off to college to get you thinking about legacy and the passage of time. Looking back on the past 18 years, what stays in my mind—more than the cliches of baby’s first steps or first words—are all the things I’ve tried to tuck into my childrens’ souls on the off beats. The summer days we spent looking at bugs and walking to the... Read more
by Rav Dr. Rachel Adelman Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1 – 18:32) Inspired by Rabbi Giulia Fleishman’s `22 teaching, BeMidbar Spring of ‘20. For Van Gogh, white almond blossom branches set against the blue sky were a favorite subject of painting. In 1890, he made a gift of the famous “Almond Blossom” painting (above) to his brother Theo and his sister-in-law, Jo, who had just had a baby son. They named their son after their brother, Vincent, who later that year... Read more
By Minna Bromberg, PhD, RAB `10 Parashat Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13:1 – 15:41) So close! In this week’s Torah portion (Shelach Lecha), the people are so close to entering the Land of Canaan. Freed from slavery, recipients of the Ten Commandments and of literal manna from heaven, they seem like a people on a roll. Sure, they’ve also built a Golden Calf and had some other rough patches along the way, but now they are right there, ready “to case... Read more
By Heather Renetzky Parashat Beha’alotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:16) One of the side effects of being in rabbinical school for four years is that Yeshivish language makes its way into your everyday slang. I no longer ask if we’ve figured out the logistics of a trip, but if we can go over the tachlis details. I end sentences with phrases like “kah mashma lan” (Aramaic for, “It teaches us [something]”). The word “davka” is sprinkled a little too frequently into my sentences. And... Read more
by Rabbi Avi Killip Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) I have always been fascinated by the Nazirite vow, described in this week’s parsha. It is so deeply personal. You choose to become a Nazir, you choose the terms of how long it will last, and then you perform a ritual to release yourself from the binds of the vow. The vow offers you a concrete structure to restrict yourself in relation to the physical world—no wine, no haircuts—in order to be... Read more
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Seeds of Consolation: Open-Eyed Torah for a Friend
By Naomi Gurt Lind Parashat Vaetchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11) For Lea Andersen, of cherished memory Parashat Vaetchanan begins with Moshe deep in his feelings, as he recalls pleading with God to be allowed to enter into the Promised Land. He has devoted his life to his people, has endured hardship and frustration, conquered self-doubt and overwork, only to find that at the end of his life he will not get to see the task come to fruition. In Deuteronomy 3:25, early in the... Read more