You know what Reform Jews call it? The Ten Suggestions. That joke lies at the heart of a quandary that all Liberal, Progressive, Modern and Post-Modern Jews share, including those of us who call ourselves Independent: Heteronomy vs. Autonomy. Or, in other words, obedience to something outside myself, vs. “you ain’t the boss of me”. Heteronomy,Continue reading “Shabbat Tzav: The Boss Of Me”
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Shabbat Zakhor: Remember? then Do Something
This Shabbat, on which we read the first words of the book VaYikra, called Leviticus, is also called Zakhor, “remember”. For Jews, to remember is to do. This assumption – that the mental act prompts a physical one – is encoded in the ancient Hebrew: וַיְהִי בַיָּמִים הָרַבִּים הָהֵם, וַיָּמָת מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם, וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן-הָעֲבֹדָה, וַיִּזְעָקוּ;Continue reading “Shabbat Zakhor: Remember? then Do Something”
Shabbat Pekudey: Get Over Yourself and Go Learn
Our parashat hashavua this week, Pekudey, could be known as “the Accountants’ Parashah”. Pekudey means “records”, and our text begins with אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת, אֲשֶׁר פֻּקַּד עַל-פִּי מֹשֶׁה: עֲבֹדַת, הַלְוִיִּם, בְּיַד אִיתָמָר, בֶּן-אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן These are the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, as they were rendered under Moses’s supervision: the work done by the Levites, under Itamar, son of AaronContinue reading “Shabbat Pekudey: Get Over Yourself and Go Learn”
Shabbat Shekalim: the power of a half-shekel
As of our hearing the haftarah chanted on Shabbat tomorrow, we begin the formal countdown to Pesakh. Yes, we have not celebrated Purim yet; but Purim, as much fun as it can be, is a minor holiday, and we are beginning to prepare for the most important Festival of the year. Pesakh, the commemoration ofContinue reading “Shabbat Shekalim: the power of a half-shekel”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 