Weekly Torah Reading, Beha‘alotekha, June 15, 2019
The Good Old Days In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author advises, “Don’t say, ‘How has it come about that things were better in earlier times than now?’ for you are not asking about this out of wisdom” (7:10). …
Weekly Torah Reading: Shavu‘ot, June 9, 2019
The Giving of the Rest of the Torah As everyone knows, the festival of Shavu‘ot commemorates the giving of the Torah. Year in and year out, we mark the day with special celebrations and readings in synagogue; some …
Weekly Torah Reading, June 1, 2019
In Israel: BeMidbar Don’t Look! This week’s Torah reading begins with a detailed census of Israel’s tribes. However, the Levites are not included in the census; they are listed separately afterwards. The Torah says that there were …
Weekly Torah Readings, Behukkotai and Be-Har, May 24, 2019
In Israel: Behukkotai: Fortuna There’s a word that occurs seven times in this week’s reading and nowhere else in the whole Bible. Commentators and translators are thus understandably confused about the precise meaning of the word keri. On largely …
Weekly Torah Reading, BeHar and Emor, May 18, 2019
In Israel: BeHar Ancient Israel was largely a farming economy. This week’s Torah portion stipulates that every seventh year is to be a “sabbatical” for the land: “You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard” (Lev 25:4). In …
Weekly Torah Reading, Emor and Kedoshim, May 11, 2019
Weekly Torah Reading (in Israel): Emor, May 11, 2019 (Outside of Israel: Kedoshim. See below) Why Do We Count the ‘Omer? In this week’s reading, the Torah commands the people of Israel to bring the first sheaf (‘omer) …
Weekly Torah Readings, (in Israel) Kedoshim, (outside Israel), Aharei Mot May 4, 2019
Weekly Torah Readings, (in Israel) Kedoshim, May 4, 2019 (for outside Israel, Aḥarei Mot, —see below) Like Yourself No doubt the most famous verse in this week’s reading, Kedoshim, is Lev 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor like …
Weekly Torah Reading, Seventh Day of Passover, April 26, 2019
Two Great Songs The reading for the Seventh Day features the Song of the Sea—the song that the Israelites sang after their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Actually, this same song is recited every day as part …