By Naomi Gurt Lind Parashat Bamidbar Numbers 1:1-4:20 לִמְנוֹת יָמֵינוּ כֵּן הוֹדַע וְנָבִא לְבַב חָכְמָה׃ Teach us to count our days truly, that we may attain a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12) Six weeks ago, with the taste of afikoman still on our lips, we entered our season of counting. Day by day, week by week, we have been counting our days. Each evening we bless and count: days and weeks in seven groups of seven, as commanded in Leviticus... Read more
By Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman Parashat Bechukotai (Leviticus 26:3-27:34) “Neurodiversity is a movement to claim the many ways there are to be human.” —Amanda Diekman My son and I are both Autistic with a PDA profile. Though many prefer Pervasive Drive for Autonomy, PDA’s clinical name is Pathological Demand Avoidance. Along with many PDAers and PDA educators, I believe PDA is best understood as a nervous system disability in which a person is born with an overactive threat response that... Read more
By Rabbi Ilana Zeitman, HC ’19 Parashat Behar Leviticus 25:1-26:2 My two-year-old is starting to use new words at an overwhelmingly rapid pace. As a parent, it is incredible to witness his growing ability to express himself and to communicate with others. Half the time his scattered sentences are fairly helpful in understanding what he wants, and the other half of the time, his speech is an entertaining mix of singing, gibberish and playful chatter. The other day, though, he... Read more
By Rav Hazzan Ken Richmond, HC ’21 Parashat Emor Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Life as a congregational clergy person is full of rapid ups and downs. The same week or day may bring a bris and a tragic funeral, visiting sick congregants and teaching B-mitzvah students, discussing anti-Semitism and Israel at war, and singing with preschool kids. This reflects the variegated experiences of those in our communities. In addition to the fluctuations of our individual lives and of the Jewish community as... Read more
by Rabbi Daniel Klein, Dean of Students for the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College Parashat Kedoshim Leviticus 19:1-20:27 If you have been reading the Torah portion each week, the arrival of Parashat Kedoshim this week can, at first glance, feel like a bit of a plot twist. For the six previous parashiyot of the Book of Leviticus, we have been located either in the mishkan, the portable tabernacle in the wilderness, or oriented towards it. The content has been primarily... Read more
By Rabbi Jordan Braunig Parashat Acharei Mot Exodus 6:2-9:35 There is a familiarity to the unfolding ritual found in this week’s parashah, Acharei Mot. Much of it, detailing the actions and choreography of the high priest on Yom Kippur is recounted each year on our holiest day. The strangeness of the ritual, the sprinkling of blood, the laying of hands on a goat, the donning of ritual garb, offers an ancient backdrop to our very modern account-taking. When the holiday... Read more
By Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth Parashat Metzora Leviticus 14:1-15:33 In a college creative writing class I had a professor tell me during a workshop that I am “obsessed with space.” Everything I handed in for his class was disproportionately focused on describing the home and other private spaces in great detail. I had not realized I’d been doing it, but once I saw it I couldn’t stop seeing it. In every facet of my life, I realized, I am primarily oriented towards... Read more
By Rabbi Justin David Parashat Tazria Leviticus 12:1-13:59 Early in my years as a rabbinical student, I applied for an internship as a hospital chaplain. It was in a large, high profile hospital, and the rabbi who directed the program had a national reputation. He conducted the interview while taking me on a brisk tour of the hospital’s various wards. As we were walking quickly, the rabbi turned to me and asked, “So, how do you deal with the dark... Read more
By Rabbi Jim Morgan Parashat Sh’mini (Leviticus 9:1-11:47) Vay’hi ba-yom ha’sh’mini—And on the eighth day (Lev. 9:1): the last moment of perfection, the departure from the Eden of the seven days of Creation into the fallen world of human existence. The first day of creation was all light, just the work of recognizing distinctions, the basis for the subsequent five days of building up a perfectly balanced world of life with no death. The week culminates in Shabbat, the seventh... Read more
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By Rabbi Shira Shazeer ’10 Parashat Naso Numbers 4:21-7:89 A former student of mine taught me the Hebrew expression, sofrim et ha-omer, v’az sofrim lagomer, we count the omer, and then count down to the end of school. This year, the two come closely intertwined. The intensity of ending the school year mirrors the spiritual intensity of Shavuot, receiving the Torah’s revelation. The yearning for summer and the time to pursue the deferred needs of our souls resonates with Shavuot’s... Read more