Weekly Torah Reading, Ki Tavo, September 5, 2015
Reuben, Where Art Thou? “Today,” Moses tell the Israelites, “you have become the people of the Lord your God” (Deut 27:9) Our Rabbis asked: What did he mean by “today”? Wasn’t Israel chosen to be God’s own people …
Weekly Torah Reading, Ki Tetze, August 29, 2015
Remembering Amalek At the very end of this week’s reading comes a well-known commandment, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way as you were leaving Egypt.” The reference is to the battle fought between the Amalekites and …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shofetim, August 22, 2015
How to Make War This week’s reading, Shofetim, mentions a number of issues having to do with warfare. The first of these concerns the institution of kingship. Elsewhere in the ancient Near East, kings were virtually all-powerful: in Mesopotamia, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Re’eh, August 15, 2015
Children of the Lord “You are children of the Lord your God,” it says in this week’s Torah reading (Deut 14:1). But what could this possibly mean? In what sense can God be said to have children of …
Weekly Torah Reading, Ekev, August 8, 2015
Not by Bread Alone The expression “Not by bread alone” has certainly gotten around: it is, among other things, the name of a website promoting a farmer’s market in Green Bay, Wisconsin; the title of a Russian novel by …
Weekly Torah Reading August 1, 2015
The Real Shema According to one rabbinic tradition, when the “men of Jericho” recited the Shema, they would say it in a slightly different way from that followed by Jews nowadays. They would “bind it” with what follows; that is, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Deut 1:1-3:22 (July 25, 2015)
Alas! This week’s reading, from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, is always read on the Shabbat preceding the Ninth of Av (Tish‘ah be-Av), a day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples in …
Weekly Torah Reading Mattot-Mas‘ei July 18, 2015
Slow Justice One of the most widespread legal principles in the ancient world was the lex [or “ius”] talionis, the law [or “right”] of retribution. A person who, for example, injured someone was to be punished by suffering the …