Weekly Torah Reading, Pineḥas, July 4, 2026
Doubly Called Last week’s Torah reading ended with a certain Israelite hero slaying a flagrantly offending couple, thereby turning aside God’s wrath. The name of the hero is written Phinehas in English, although Phineas used to be its regular …
Weekly Torah Reading, Hukkat, June 20, 2026
Rise up, O Well This week’s Torah reading begins with the detailed procedure for purification from corpse contamination—a rather technical matter. But this section is then followed by a number of historical recitations and even two pieces of ancient …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shelaḥ Lekha, June 6, 2026
Being an Ish Commentators have long noticed a contradiction in the Torah’s account of the tribal leaders who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. In this week’s reading, the idea of sending them clearly …
Weekly Torah Reading, Emor, May 2, 2026
The Top of the List This week’s Torah reading includes a detailed list of Israel’s holy days—Passover, Shavuot, and so forth. “These are the Lord’s fixed times,” God tells Moses, “which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions” (Leviticus …
Weekly Torah Reading, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, April 25, 2026
To Love Your Neighbor No doubt the most famous verse in this week’s double reading, Aḥarei Mot-Kedoshim, is Lev 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor like yourself.” Rabbi Akiva declared that this verse is nothing less than the “great …
Tips for the Reading of the Passover Haggadah, April 1, 2026
In four different passages of the Torah, Jewish parents are commanded to tell their children about the exodus from Egypt ((Exodus chap. 12:26-27, 13:8, 13:14, and Deuteronomy 6:20-21). We carry out this commandment by reading the little booklet (Haggadah) …
Weekly Torah Readings, Vayyakhel-Pekudei, March 14, 2026 Exodus 35:1-40:38
Exodus 35:1-40:38 For the last three weeks, the Torah has given us all the details of the moveable desert sanctuary, the mishkan, that the Israelites were commanded to put together: the different wooden beams and boards, curtains, cloths, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Tetzavveh, February 28, 2026
The Temple’s Splendor This week’s Torah reading describes the special garments to be worn by the kohanim (priests) in the Temple. Those garments were no minor detail. In ancient Israel, clothes made the kohen. Kohanim couldn’t serve in …