Weekly Torah Reading

“Now I know”—”But Why Didn’t You Know Before?”   Nowadays, this week’s Torah reading justly troubles a great many readers. It contains the famous account of God’s command to Abraham to kill his own son, sacrificing him like some animal …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Bereshit, October 18, 2025 Don’t Touch That Tree!   Who was responsible for what happened to humanity in the garden of Eden, Adam or Eve?   On the face of things, it was mostly Eve’s fault. After …

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      A Jewish New Year’s Card                                        Summery exaltation or summary execution? The more-than-august judgments have been handed down in …

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Going by the Book     This week’s reading contains a curious provision. Moses instructs the Israelites that as soon as they cross the Jordan River to enter their future homeland, they are to write down the words of “this …

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The More, the Merit   This week’s Torah reading is full of divine commandments—by tradition, more commandments than any other week in the annual cycle of readings. They cover a broad variety of topics in ritual, civil, and criminal law, …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Shofetim, August 30, 2025   Extra Scrutiny   This week’s reading opens with the subject of courts and the proper administration of justice. Judges and other officials are to be appointed in all your [city] gates, that …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Re’eh, August 23, 2025   God’s Children     This week’s reading contains an odd injunction: “You are children of the Lord your God,” it says, “You shall not gash yourselves or shave the front of your …

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Weekly Torah Reading, ‘Ekev, August 16, 2025 Not Just Bread This week’s Torah reading includes a famous saying. Human beings do not live “by bread alone,” that is, we don’t survive merely by the material things of life. Rather, we …

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