On Erev Shabbat BaMidbar, my teacher Byron Sherwin became an echo of Eternity. I first met Byron over the phone in 2000. I had heard about doctoral studies at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago and hoped that this would be a way into more spiritual growth. At the time, I felt stymied: an associate Rabbi atContinue reading “Moreynu Rabbeynu Byron Sherwin זכרונו לברכה”
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Shabbat BaMidbar, erev Shavuot: What Is This Torah That We Receive?
The very first lines of Pirke Avot, a famous collection of Rabbinic 1st-century ethical “sayings of the ancestors”, goes like this: Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the men of the Great Assembly. –Continue reading “Shabbat BaMidbar, erev Shavuot: What Is This Torah That We Receive?”
shabbat Emor: the price of disrespect
Parashat Emor includes, coincidentally, the mitzvah (command) of Sefirat haOmer, the counting of the omer (a sheaf of barley). The original idea is probably agricultural: during the ongoing barley harvest, bringing a sheaf from each day’s harvest for a formal count may have been some kind of ritual effort to keep the harvest abundant. It is true that we sometimes delight in countingContinue reading “shabbat Emor: the price of disrespect”
Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: The Goal of Torah Study
This week’s parashah is once again a double: Akharei Mot, “after death” and Kedoshim, “set apart”, which is what “holy” means in Jewish religious culture. Because every couple of years these two parashot occur as a double (meaning that we read at least a third of them both), it was only natural that our inquisitive andContinue reading “Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: The Goal of Torah Study”
Shabbat Tazria-Metzora: Time Out
This week’s double parashah reflects a fundamental understanding of ancient Israelite religion – and we are not sure that we know what it is. Between parashat Tazria and parashat Metzora, we are presented for four solid chapters of VaYikra (Leviticus) with rules of what anthropologist Mary Douglas called “purity and danger” in her book of theContinue reading “Shabbat Tazria-Metzora: Time Out”
Shabbat haGadol: Preparing for Today
This is the last Shabbat before we leave. Grab what you think you can take with you, we have no idea, really, what we’ll be facing, only that we’re leaving. בכל דור ודור חייב אד לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים . In every generation, each person is obligated to see himself as ifContinue reading “Shabbat haGadol: Preparing for Today”
Shalom Shir Tikvah Learning Community, We have begun reading from the third book of the Torah in our ritual cycle; the book VaYikra, translated as “Leviticus”. The word refers to all things priestly, literally, of the Levites. It gives precise instructions for how the ancient sacrificial cult was to be enacted, and probably was originallyContinue reading
Getting Ready for Pesakh: What Is Matzah Really About?
It’s all about the matzah. The official name – and the most ancient name – of our early spring festival is Hag haMatzot, the Festival of Matzah. Eating matzah is a mitzvah, an obligation for every Jew. But what if you’re gluten free? this question has of course already been answered by the matzah industry:Continue reading “Getting Ready for Pesakh: What Is Matzah Really About?”
Shabbat Ki Tisa: Thinking Outside Your Self
This is the Shabbat of parashat Ki Tisa, the most famous part of which is the debacle of the Golden Calf. On one foot (the Jewish idiom for “in a nutshell”): We have just lived through the glorious commitment ceremony between us and G-d, and received the promise of the Torah (at least the AseretContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tisa: Thinking Outside Your Self”
Shabbat Zakhor: What Commands You to Remember?
This Shabbat is not only named Tetzaveh, “you shall command” for the Torah reading assigned to it, but also Zakhor, for the imperative “remember!” which denotes the special Torah reading added to the regular weekly parashah. This is the second of four special Shabbatot that mark the days we count down (or, more appropriately, up) to Pesakh,Continue reading “Shabbat Zakhor: What Commands You to Remember?”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 