“The self is not built to carry its own weight.” – Roy Baumeister, social psychologist The Jewish people are hard to please. Apparently against all odds they have escaped from Egyptian slavery, as is described in the Torah narrative of Exodus. Having had a time to rest and recover from that fearful event all duringContinue reading “Shabbat B’Ha’alot’kha: None of Us Can Do This Alone”
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Shabbat BaMidbar: Wilderness of Doubt
שָׁל֨וֹם ׀ שָׁל֜וֹם לָרָח֧וֹק וְלַקָּר֛וֹב אָמַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה וּרְפָאתִֽיו׃ peace, peace to the far and to the near – Isaiah 57.19 This week our parashah records the beginning of the wandering of the Jewish people – for the Torah, the wandering lasted for 40 years, but in a real way, it has never ended. We wanderContinue reading “Shabbat BaMidbar: Wilderness of Doubt”
Shabbat BeHar-BeHukotai: Emet v’Emunah
“true and reliable” in the Age of Fake News אֵ֥לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר תַּֽעֲשׂ֑וּ דַּבְּר֤וּ אֱמֶת֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵ֔הוּ אֱמֶת֙ וּמִשְׁפַּ֣ט שָׁל֔וֹם שִׁפְט֖וּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶֽם׃You must speak the truth, and judge truthfully and fairly in all your dwelling placesZekharyah 8.16 The double parashah that we study this week, BeHar and BeHukotai, bring us to the end of the Book VaYikra (Leviticus).Continue reading “Shabbat BeHar-BeHukotai: Emet v’Emunah”
Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: One Step At A Time
“Be holy as HaShem is holy.” Our days are full of unnerving paradoxes, and this week was no exception: This week George Floyd’s killer was found guilty of murder despite being a white police officer, AND police with the identical training killed Andrew Brown, Daunte Wright, Ma’khia Bryant and, here in Portland, Robert Delgado. ThisContinue reading “Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: One Step At A Time”
Shabbat Tazria-Metzora: The Elixir of Life
מִי-הָאִישׁ, הֶחָפֵץ חַיִּים Mi ha’Ish he’Hafetz Hayim? Who is the one who desires life? – Psalm 34.13 The early Shabbat morning prayers called p’sukei d’zimra (verses of song) are a way for us to prepare spiritually to pull aside our Zoom veils and seek the presence of holiness together They include some rather direct opportunitiesContinue reading “Shabbat Tazria-Metzora: The Elixir of Life”
Shabbat Shemini: You Can Rise Up
The fifty days between the two harvest festivals of Pesakh and Shavuot are traditionally counted. The daily count is called Sefirat haOmer, the “counting of the [barley] measure,” because in the unceasing toil of ancient agricultural subsistence, every day of the harvest was a time to count in gratitude and in hope for continuing harvest.Continue reading “Shabbat Shemini: You Can Rise Up”
Shabbat hol hamo’ed Pesakh: the Imperative of Joy
On Sunday evening at our Second Seder we counted the plagues: world wide pandemic and more than 2.5 million souls lost Oregon fires Texas ice storm George Floyd economic hardship assault on the U.S. Capitol children in U.S. concentration camps 31 million people without health insurance white supremacy violence The Federal government repeatedly using weaponsContinue reading “Shabbat hol hamo’ed Pesakh: the Imperative of Joy”
We Need a Nekhemta
Spring is here – and with it, more light! We can go outside, safely distanced, and bask in sunshine. Relief for light, and the ability to see more and further, is a natural response. We are like the new growth it the spring, flowering in delight. But after the last 9 days, with eight massacredContinue reading “We Need a Nekhemta”
Shabbat Tetzaveh: For Want of a Tent Peg
Our parashat hashavua is Tetzaveh, from the same root as mitzvah, that is, obligation. The parashah’s name is generic: every week we are presented with mitzvot, which we are to carry out. No matter what the occasion or occurrence, there’s always a mitzvah to fulfill; this is the framework that structures Jewish life. The mitzvotContinue reading “Shabbat Tetzaveh: For Want of a Tent Peg”
Shabbat Zakhor: Remember to Forget
The parashat hashavua is Terumah, which begins with the insistence that if we would know the holy – know peace, serenity, friendship and love – we must build a holy place in which to focus our intention: Let Them make Me a sanctuary where I can be among them (Exodus 25.8) We cannot truly understandContinue reading “Shabbat Zakhor: Remember to Forget”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 