Parashat Va’yikra (Leviticus 1:1-5:26) By Rabbi Or N. Rose, Director, Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership, Hebrew College “And he [YHWH] called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting…” As one can see in the image above, the letter Aleph at the end of the word “Va’yikra—And He called,” is smaller than the rest of the letters. This oddity (like other instances of reduced or enlarged letters in the Hebrew Bible) has led to an outpouring of creative commentary... Read more
Parashat Pekudei (Exodus 38:21-40:38) By Risa Dunbar Last May, I moved all of my belongings into a storage unit before leaving town for the year. I researched and secured the appropriate unit, donated unneeded items, and packed my remaining belongings into boxes, each of which I accounted for in a detailed spreadsheet. My thinking was that, upon my return to Boston, I would be able to find what I needed, and quickly feel at home once more. Assessing my belongings was... Read more
By Rabbi Minna Bromberg ’10 Parashat VaYak’hel Exodus 35:1-38:20 “Pencils down,” the exam proctor says firmly. And in that moment, whatever hopes or fears I may have had about what I’ve accomplished in this test evaporate, and I am left with whatever answers I have managed to give in the time available. It has been decades since I sat for any kind of formal timed exam like those etched in my memories and yet I have a similar “Pencils down”... Read more
By Rabbi Jessica Kate Meyer ’14, Hebrew College Artist in Residence and Rosh Tefila Parashat Ki Tissa Exodus 30:11-34:35 Oh so many censuses (censi?) in the Torah. Why must God count us all the time? Our rabbi ancestors explain it with a mashal, a parable: To what can we compare God counting us? To a king with overflowing treasures. In the corner of his palace lies a box of semi-precious stones. Nothing flashy. For some inexplicable reason, the king loves... Read more
By Rabbi Danny Stein, Hebrew College Rabbinical School ’23 Parashat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20-30:10 We learn this in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Ancestors): אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר? הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ Who is rich? One who is happy with what he has. (Avot 4:1) This is a wonderful exercise in gratitude; I should strive to be content and happy with what I have now. But, what about those moments when I am jealous of what others have? In Parshat Tetzaveh, we learn that Moses’s... Read more
Parashat Terumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19) By Idit Klein, President of Keshet, a campus partner of Hebrew College וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם׃ They shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8) I could only read this week’s parashah, Terumah, and this verse in particular, through the lens of my trip to Israel last month. Together with 11 other women in leadership in the Boston Jewish community, we met with our counterparts in Israel — feminist leaders... Read more
Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18) By Rabbi Max Edwards, Hebrew College Rabbinical School ’21 Parashat Mishpatim Exodus 18:1-20:23 The year was 1892, and John Froelich had just invented the first gasoline-powered tractor in Froelich, Iowa. Up until this moment, agricultural production required heavy lifting and large animals, namely horses, mules, and oxen. I grew up surrounded by farms, but not on one myself. My grandpa, however, grew up on a farm, surrounded by Yiddish-speaking immigrants who didn’t know from English nor... Read more
Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:23) by Jessica Spencer, Hebrew College Rabbinical School ’24 How do we cope when the world tips beneath us, when that which we thought would always be true changes in a moment? For many of us, October 7 shattered our beliefs about the world. When promises break, the breach can cut us off from our convictions and leave us adrift in newfound despair. In Parashat Yitro, God makes one such promise. וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ... Read more
Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) By Rabbi Frankie Sandmel I’ve been carrying an image with me over the past few months, as I feel acutely aware of the impact this period of ongoing violence has on Israeli and Palestinian children. The image is of a small child’s hand pointing up, and saying, “This is my God, and I will praise Him – ze eili v’anveihu,” while waves rush around them, holding back, so that they may cross on dry land. The image arises... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
Ecstasy Burns Away Meanness
Parashat Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36) The last book that Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote was a 300+ page Yiddish tome on the theological and philosophical relationship between a renowned pietistic Hasidic master of the early 19th century, Reb Menachem Mendl of Kotsk and the famous Christian theologian and mystic Soren Kierkegaard. A book about two 19th century religious figures may not sound like a page turner, but at the heart of the book is a reflection on passion and joy. Heschel explains that... Read more