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
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
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
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When Dropping Obligations is a Mitzvah
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