rabbiariel

Shabbat Re’eh: Torah Against Occupation

Even the devil can quote Scripture This is the Third Shabbat of Consolation; as we move toward the High Holy Days of 5785, may we find the inner strength to believe in the possibility of positive change in ourselves, and in our world. אֵ֣ת כׇּל־הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָנֹכִי֙ מְצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֹת֥וֹ תִשְׁמְר֖וּ לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת לֹא־תֹסֵ֣ף עָלָ֔יו וְלֹ֥אContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Torah Against Occupation”

Shabbat Ekev: What If You’re Mistaken?

Getting all judge-y אַל־תֹּאמַ֣ר בִּלְבָבְךָ֗ בַּהֲדֹ֣ף יְהֹוָה֩ אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ אֹתָ֥ם ׀ מִלְּפָנֶ֘יךָ֮ לֵאמֹר֒ בְּצִדְקָתִי֙ הֱבִיאַ֣נִי ה’ לָרֶ֖שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את And when your God ‘ה has thrust them from your path, say not to yourselves, “יהוה has enabled us to possess this land because of our virtues”. (Devarim 9.4) This week is the second of Seven Weeks of Consolation,Continue reading “Shabbat Ekev: What If You’re Mistaken?”

Shabbat Nahamu: You Can’t Always Get What You Want

עֲלֵ֣ה ׀ רֹ֣אשׁ הַפִּסְגָּ֗ה וְשָׂ֥א עֵינֶ֛יךָ יָ֧מָּה וְצָפֹ֛נָה וְתֵימָ֥נָה וּמִזְרָ֖חָה וּרְאֵ֣ה בְעֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּי־לֹ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֥ן הַזֶּֽה׃ Go up to the summit of Pisgah and gaze about, to the west, the north, the south, and the east. Look at it well, for you shall not go across yonder Jordan. (Dev. 3.27) Moshe Rabbenu is held up inContinue reading “Shabbat Nahamu: You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

Shabbat Hazon: Facing It

With this week’s parashah we begin the last of the five books of the Torah, what our tradition also refers to as Torat Moshe, the Torah of Moshe. The entire book is a retrospective, a re-telling (the meaning of the word “deuteronomy”) of the epic myth of the Jewish people. We can tell it like a joke, that HaShemContinue reading “Shabbat Hazon: Facing It”

Shabbat Pinhas: The Partial Nature of Knowing

“Oops. Good point; didn’t think of that.” – Moshe “Me either. The women are right. Give them what they want.” – HaShem Where does the idea that there is any such thing as an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing deity come from? Certainly not our Torah; this week’s parashah is one of many that show this. TheContinue reading “Shabbat Pinhas: The Partial Nature of Knowing”

Shabbat Balak: Some of My Best Friends are Anti-Zionists

Heading into the Three Weeks in 5784 וּמִפְּנֵי חֲטָאֵינוּ גָּלִינוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ – because of our sins we were exiled from our homeland. (Rambam, order of prayer, 3.6) מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ – How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! (from this week’s parashah) Rashi: How goodly are they even whenContinue reading “Shabbat Balak: Some of My Best Friends are Anti-Zionists”

Shabbat Shelakh L’kha: Israel Is Neither Here Nor There

This week’s parashah is a turning point for our people, and not a good one. Astonishingly enough, the journey from the foot of Mt Sinai to the edge of what the Torah calls the Land of the Promise is relatively very short: our ancestors began to journey in last week’s parashah and already they haveContinue reading “Shabbat Shelakh L’kha: Israel Is Neither Here Nor There”

Shabbat Naso: Use Your Words

חַיֵּ֣י בְ֭שָׂרִים לֵ֣ב מַרְפֵּ֑א וּרְקַ֖ב עֲצָמ֣וֹת קִנְאָֽה׃ A calm disposition gives bodily health; jealousy rots the bones. (Mishle 14.30) If the Book VaYikra, Leviticus, was short on drama, the Book we are now reading, BaMidbar, Numbers, makes up for it. This week in our triennial cycle we are confronted with a text that has discomfitedContinue reading “Shabbat Naso: Use Your Words”

Shabbat BaMidbar: Guarding Ourselves

Is the Oregon Food Bank our enemy? שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כׇּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם׃ Take a census of the whole Israelite company [of fighters] by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head. (Numbers 1.2) This week we begin reading the fourth book of theContinue reading “Shabbat BaMidbar: Guarding Ourselves”