Uncategorized – Page 8 – Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone

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”

Shabbat BeHukotai: Justice, Not Vengeance

“Even though Trump wanted me executed even when it was proven that I was innocent, I’m not celebrating this verdict. We should be proud that today the system worked. But we should be somber that we Americans have an ex-president who has been found guilty on 34 separate felony charges.” – Harlem City Councilman YusefContinue reading “Shabbat BeHukotai: Justice, Not Vengeance”

Shabbat BeHar: Everything is Connected

מָה עִנְיַן שְׁמִטָּה אֵצֶל הַר סִינַי? – What does shemitta have to do with Mount Sinai? (Rashi ז“ל) Suppose there is something going on in the universe which is to ordinary, everyday reality as our unconscious is to our daily lives? Softly, but unmistakably guiding it. Most of the time, we are unaware of it.Continue reading “Shabbat BeHar: Everything is Connected”

Shabbat Emir: Torah and Disability

What does it mean to “be without blemish?” בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיָּצְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם הָיוּ כָּל רֻבָּן בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין, לָמָּה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיוּ יְגֵעִים בַּטִּיט וּבַלְּבֵנִים וְעוֹלִים לְרֹאשׁ הַבִּנְיָן וּמִי שֶׁהוּא בּוֹנֶה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹלִין לְרָאשֵׁי הַדָּמוֹסִין, אוֹ הָאֶבֶן נוֹפֶלֶת וְקוֹטַעַת יָדוֹ, אוֹ הַקּוֹרָה אוֹ הַטִּיט נִכְנָס בְּעֵינָיו וְהוּא נִסְמָא. וְהָיוּ בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין. When the Israelites leftContinue reading “Shabbat Emir: Torah and Disability”

Shabbat Akharei Mot: When Memory Comes

After Pesakh, we return to the regular scheduled readings of the parashat hashavua. This week the parashah is Akharei Mot, in which we are confronted with a difficult narrative that recounts the violent accidental deaths of two young priests on their first day on the job. וַיִּקְח֣וּ בְנֵֽי־אַ֠הֲרֹ֠ן נָדָ֨ב וַאֲבִיה֜וּא אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ בָהֵן֙ אֵ֔שׁContinue reading “Shabbat Akharei Mot: When Memory Comes”

Shabbat Hol HaMo’ed Pesakh 5784: Only Love

On this Shabbat which is called Shabbat hol hamo’ed Pesakh, the Shabbat of the Intermediate Days of Pesakh, we are – just as the name implies – in the middle of the story. The middle is a dreadful place, neither here nor there, full of uncertainty and fear. In short, it is not usually theContinue reading “Shabbat Hol HaMo’ed Pesakh 5784: Only Love”