Weekly Torah Reading, Re’eh, August 23, 2025
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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, ‘Ekev, August 16, 2025
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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, Devarim, August 2, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Devarim, August 2, 2025 A Man of Constant Sorrow This week’s portion, Devarim, always precedes the reading of the book of Lamentations on the ninth of the Hebrew month of Ab, which commemorates the destruction of …
Weekly Torah Reading, Mattot-Mas‘ei, July 26, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Mattot-Mas‘ei, July 26, 2025 The story of the tribes of Reuben and Gad in this week’s Torah reading contains a rather subtle message. Following Israel’s defeat of Midian, the Reubenites and Gadites realize that the …
Weekly Torah Reading, Balak, July 12, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Balak, July 12, 2025 All Alone? 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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, Ḥukkat, July 5, 2025
A Bit Too Confident This week’s reading relates that, toward the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites ran out of water. They complained bitterly to their leaders, Moses and Aaron: “Why did you …
Weekly Torah Reading, Korah, June 28, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Korah, June 28, 2025 For Argument’s Sake This week’s Torah reading recounts the attempted revolt of Koraḥ and his allies. According to Numbers 16:3, the rebels “assembled” (vay-yiqqahalu) against Moses and Aaron. The same verb appears …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shelaḥ-Lekha, June 21, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Shelaḥ-Lekha, June 21, 2025 One Man Job 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, …