Weekly Torah Reading, Passover, April 20, 2019
Some Pointers for the Seder In case you missed these last week, here again are some of my annual tips for the first night of Passover: Reclining The whole reason for having a Passover seder is to …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shabbat ha-Gadol, April 13, 2019
Some Pointers for the Seder Here are some of my annual tips for the first night of Passover: Reclining The whole reason for having a Passover seder is to carry out the Torah’s commandment, “And you shall tell …
Weekly Torah Reading, Tazri‘a, April 6, 2019
The Handoff In addition to the regular weekly reading (Tazri‘a), this Shabbat includes a special reading, since it is Shabbat ha-Ḥodesh, the Shabbat that falls before or on the first day of the month of Nisan. The special reading …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shemini, March 30, 2019
Our Religious Leaders Why were Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, struck dead in the desert tabernacle (mishkan)? Everything was all set for the inauguration of regular sacrificial worship in the mishkan, and then this tragedy—why? The Torah …
The Crucial Vav; Some Thoughts about Purim
Third-Wave Feminists, Opponents of the Death Penalty, the “Ban Sugar in Schools” Movement, Esperantists, Religious Inclusivists and Other Internationalists of Various Allegiances—poor old Purim has a pack of enemies gunning for her in this holy Jewish year of 5779. And …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shabbat Zakhor, March 14, 2019
Remember to Forget? The Shabbat just preceding Purim is called “Shabbat Zakhor” because the Torah reading on that day ends with the commandment of Deut 25:17-19: Remember (Zakhor) what Amalek did to you on your way out of …
Weekly Torah Reading, Pekudei, March 9, 2019
Why Keep Repeating? A short comment on a short Torah reading, Pekudei: In general, rabbinic interpreters (and some of their predecessors) shied away from recognizing any cases of repetition in the biblical text. “Every word counts” meant that no verse, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyakhel, March 2, 2019
Mirrors and Their Meaning This week’s reading recounts in detail how the Israelites carried out God’s commandment to build a tabernacle (mishkan)—the moveable sanctuary that would serve as a kind of temple during their wanderings in the wilderness. The …