Weekly Torah Reading, BeMidbar, May 31, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, BeMidbar, May 31, 2025 Numbers 1:1-4:20 Without a 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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, Emor, May 17, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Emor, May 17, 2025 Very, Very Much Humble This week’s reading mostly consists of a long list of misfortunes that will befall the people of Israel if they fail to keep God’s commandments. This list is …
Weekly Torah Reading, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, May 10, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, May 10, 2025 Leviticus 16:1 to 20:27 Loving Your Neighbor No doubt the most famous verse in this week’s double reading, Aḥarei Mot-Kedoshim, is Lev 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor like yourself.” Rabbi Akiva …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyikra, April 5, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyikra, April 5, 2025 Leviticus 1:1-5:26 Heresies Avoided Hebrew doesn’t have capital letters: the first letter in a sentence, or the first letter of a proper noun, is written the same size as a letter …
Weekly Torah Reading, Pekudei, March 29, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Pekudei, March 29, 2025 The Opposite of Patience This week’s reading ends the Torah’s account of the building of the mishkan, the portable sanctuary created to allow the Israelites to worship during their travels …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyakhel, March 22, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyakhel, March 22, 2025 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 …
Weekly Torah Reading, Tetzavveh, March 8, 2025
Exodus 27:20 – 30:10 Splendor in the Temple This week’s Torah reading describes the special garments to be worn by the kohanim (priests) in the Temple. Those garments were no minor detail. In ancient Israel, clothes made …
Weekly Torah Reading, Terumah, March 1, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Terumah, March 1, 2025 Exodus 25:1 – 27:19 A New Garden At first glance, there might have seemed no reason for God to instruct the Israelites about building the mishkan, Israel’s sanctuary-in-the-desert, as recounted in this …