Author Archives: rabbiariel

Shabbat Balak: We’re Alone Out Here

We are usually distracted enough by the talking ass in our parashat hashavua to fail to notice some of the other more sobering moments of the story of the mercenary prophet Balaam and King Balak of Moab. The very idea of a talking animal might lead us to miss the fact that she is theContinue reading “Shabbat Balak: We’re Alone Out Here”

Shabbat Hukkat: Stop Making Sense

What are we to do when life is confusing, frightening, and distressing? For Jews and those who follow the Jewish spiritual path with us, there is only one answer: Torah. Immerse yourself in the ancient wellsprings that sustained our ancestors, you will find that they hold you up too. This week in parashat Hukkat our ancestorsContinue reading “Shabbat Hukkat: Stop Making Sense”

Shabbat Korakh: All the People are Holy but that’s not the point

Are you an American Jew or a Jewish American? In the 1970s I remember the Jewish community doing “values clarification” exercises in summer camp, shul learning, and adult education. The questions and discussions revolved around the concept of identity: are you a Jew who happens to live in the U.S. or are you an AmericanContinue reading “Shabbat Korakh: All the People are Holy but that’s not the point”

Shabbat Shelakh: The Point of No Return

Every once in a while, one reaches a point of no return. This week, we read in parashat Shelakh that it happened to the People of Israel. Some of the discontent and factionalizing was tolerable – they complained for meat instead of manna and got an influx of quail (spoiler alert: too much quail isContinue reading “Shabbat Shelakh: The Point of No Return”

Shabbat BeHa’alot’kha: Pride and Juneteenth and Father’s Day, oh my!

Because What Do I Know about Love Except that we are at sea in it  – and parched for its lack? Let down your buckets, my dears.  Haul up the sweet, swaying spill. Tilt your face to the stream. Be washed.  Be drenched.  Turn loose the dripping dogs to shake themselves among you. Flood theContinue reading “Shabbat BeHa’alot’kha: Pride and Juneteenth and Father’s Day, oh my!”

Shabbat BeHukotai: House Rules

When chaos threatens, what rules still make sense? Jewish time continues. Even this week, still heartbroken by the massacre of ten beautiful souls in Buffalo New York, and now reeling from the tragedy of the massacre of nineteen children and two teachers in Uvalde Texas, it’s going to be Shabbat again.  Lately it’s Tevye, dancingContinue reading “Shabbat BeHukotai: House Rules”

Shabbat BeHar Sinai: What do kidneys have to do with Sinai?

חוֹקֵר כְּלָיוֹת חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ You, Examiner of Kidneys, we have sinned before you, have compassion upon us! from the Selikhot prayers of the Edot haMizrakhi, the Jews of the Middle East This week our parashat hashavua is BeHar Sinai, “on Mt Sinai.” It seems jarring to us and strange to see this reference to Mt Sinai longContinue reading “Shabbat BeHar Sinai: What do kidneys have to do with Sinai?”

Shabbat Kedoshim: What Does It Mean to Be Holy In This World?

On this particular week in the 21st century, from the perspective of the east side of Portland Oregon in the U.S. in the western hemisphere of planet Earth, a small planet in a mid-sized galaxy in a Universe beyond our understanding, much has occurred. So much that is beyond our ability to embrace with ourContinue reading “Shabbat Kedoshim: What Does It Mean to Be Holy In This World?”

Shabbat Pesakh ‘ח – Remember

The weeklong Festival of Pesakh (with an 8th Diaspora day) is a powerful way to start a year. Beginning with the metaphor of becoming, as our ancestors experience what the rabbis called the “birth pangs” of Egyptian suffering and then transitioning through the “birth canal” of the parted waters of the Sea, we find ourselvesContinue reading “Shabbat Pesakh ‘ח – Remember”