Weekly Torah Reading Vayyera’ October 31, 2015
“Now I know” and Divine Omniscience When his wife Sarah at last gave birth to a son, Abraham was overjoyed. He cherished the boy above all things and marked the day of Isaac’s weaning with a special celebration. No …
Weekly Torah Reading, Lekh-Lekha, October 24, 2015
The Amazing Melchizedek When Abraham (technically, still “Abram”) learned that his nephew Lot had been taken prisoner by an army invading Canaan, he did not hesitate to act. “He led forth his trained men, 318 of them, born in …
Weekly Torah Reading Noaḥ October 17, 2015
Mysteries of Babel This week’s Torah reading ends with the brief story of the Tower of Babel, one of the most puzzling stories in the book of Genesis. According to the text, the ragtag band of humanity (apparently all …
Weekly Torah Reading Bereshit October 10, 2015
Childbirth and the Creation of Eve; also, Eve Was No “Helpmate” According to Leviticus chapter 12, if a woman gives birth to a male baby, she remains in a state of ritual impurity (tum’ah) for seven days. But if …
Weekly Torah Reading During Sukkot, October 3, 2015
God “Passed in Front of” Moses This week’s Torah reading (for the Sabbath that falls during the festival of Sukkot) returns us to a familiar passage in the book of Exodus, chapter 34. There, God is said to have …
Weekly Torah Reading Ha’azinu September 26, 2015
A Nation of Fools Before his death, Moses gives the people his prophetic, farewell song, known in Hebrew by its first word Ha’azinu (“Give ear!”). In this song, Moses recounts Israel’s recent history, starting with the exodus, but then …
Weekly Torah Reading Vayyelekh September 19, 2015
Moses Didn’t Want to Die In this week’s Torah reading, God instructs Moses that the time has come for him to die—in fact, He says this more than once. The reading opens with Moses relating that “the Lord said …
Weekly Torah Reading Nitzavim Sept. 12, 2015
A Minor Change in Translation “Today, you are all standing before the Lord your God,” this week’s reading opens, “your chiefs, your tribes, your elders, your officials, every man of Israel.” But there’s something wrong with this list (which …