וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ {ס} inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6.9) Our parashat hashavua this week is ki tetze, “if you go out”. We go out of many realities: from sleep to waking, from a safe space to the uncertainty of the Outside, and from our own sense ofContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tetze: It’s Uncertain Out There”
Monthly Archives: August 2023
Shabbat Shoftim: If Not Now, When?
וְיִגַּ֥ל כַּמַּ֖יִם מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה כְּנַ֥חַל אֵיתָֽן׃ But let justice well up like water, Righteousness like a torrential river. (Amos 5.24) We are appropriately proud of our prophetic tradition and its insistence upon “just balances, just weights, a just efah, and a just hin” (Lev. 19.36) in our business dealings, as well as the social imperativeContinue reading “Shabbat Shoftim: If Not Now, When?”
Shabbat Re’eh: Blessings and Curses – what can you see from here?
רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃ See, this day I set before you blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 11.26) Our parashat hashavua is the last before the month of Elul, in which we prepare spiritually for the High Holy Days. It starts as plainly and starkly as possible: Look. The word ראה re’eh in HebrewContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Blessings and Curses – what can you see from here?”
Shabbat Ekev: Limping Toward Wholeness
“Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ ה’ אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, your G*d ‘ה will maintain faithfully forContinue reading “Shabbat Ekev: Limping Toward Wholeness”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 