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
By Rabbi Max Edwards Parashat Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20) In every season, Jews around the world count days. In the summer, it’s the three weeks leading up to Tisha b’Av. The fall brings the aseret y’mei teshuvah, the ten days of repentance from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. The winter brings cold nights warmed by the light of the hanukkiah, the eight-pronged lamp used to count the eight days of Hanukkah. The spring brings its own count: the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Counting days brings... Read more
By Rabbi Shira Shazeer Parashat Bechukotai (Leviticus 26:3-27:34) We live in times of global pandemic; new unexplained and terrifying diseases; legal and political challenges to human dignity and bodily autonomy; supply chain issues creating, among other shortages, a nationwide baby formula crisis; the humanitarian disaster caused by the Russia invasion of Ukraine; rising antisemitism, white supremacy, transphobia and other varieties of hate; and gun violence both related and unrelated to them. Our society, our world, is plagued by so much trouble,... Read more
Rev. Tom Reid Parshat Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2) As I write this, I am sitting on a plane. It should not be surprising, yet it is undeniably powerful how much a shift in our physical location can impact our perspective. The world looks very different from 30,000 feet. As I have read and reread this parsha, my eyes have wandered to the view of the world down below as seen from the small airplane window to my right—my portal looking out on... Read more
By Rabbi Jim Morgan Parashat Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23) When I’m teaching, I often receive feedback from people that they are outraged by this or that passage in the Torah. “Why do we keep this?” people ask. Or: “We should cancel this verse.” I can, and sometimes do, respond that in our tradition – as in Islam and Christianity – we do not simply “change” the Bible. We can adjust a translation or shift an emphasis or pursue an apologia, but excising... Read more
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Not Looking Away from Our Pain
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