Weekly Torah Reading, Re’eh, August 7, 2021
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 The Children of God This week’s reading contains an odd interdiction: “You are children of the Lord your God,” God says. “You shall not gash yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead” (Deut 14:1). …
Weekly Torah Reading, ‘Ekev, July 31, 2021
Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 Eat What I Say The expression “Not by bread alone” (Deut 8:3) is well known nowadays, and its meaning is not particularly obscure. Look it up on the internet and you will find it succinctly paraphrased as …
Weekly Torah Reading, Va-etḥannan, July 24, 2021
Deuteronomy 3:12-7:11 Thinking about the Shema According to a rabbinic tradition, when the “men of Jericho” recited the Shema, they would say it in a slightly different way from that followed by Jews nowadays. They would recite the first …
Weekly Torah Reading, Devarim, July 17, 2021
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 What an Ox and a Donkey Know This week’s Torah reading, from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, is always read on the Shabbat preceding the Ninth of Av (Tish‘ah be-Av), a day of mourning that …
Weekly Torah Reading, Mattot and Mas‘ei, July 10, 2021
Numbers 30:2-36:13 The Lex Talionis One of the most widespread legal principles in the ancient world was the lex [or “ius”] talionis, the law [or “right”] of retribution. A person who, for example, injured someone was to be …
Weekly Torah Reading, Pineḥas, July 3, 2021
Numbers 25:10-32:42 A Tall Order 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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, Balak, June 26, 2021
Numbers 22:2-25:9 A People Dwelling Apart? In this week’s Torah reading, the pagan seer Balaam is hired to curse the people of Israel, but every time he tries, he ends up blessing them instead. In the first of these …
Weekly Torah Reading, Hukkat, June 19, 2021
Dear Readers, Sorry for the format problems–I’m working on it. Meanwhile, I hope you’ll find it nonetheless worth struggling with. James Kugel Numbers 19:1-22:1 Moses’ Mistake This week’s reading relates that, toward the end of their forty years of wandering …