וְכׇל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק All the people saw the thunder and lightning, the call of the shofar, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (Shemot 20.15) On this Shabbat we enter into the monthContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Get It?”
Tag Archives: Elul
Shabbat Ki Tetze: Doing Battle In Jewish
The first words of this week’s parashah are כי תצא למלחמה ki tetze l’milkhamah, “when you go out to do battle.” When one looks for these words in the Torah scroll, it’s easy to mistake the place, for the same phrase appears three times in a short space of parchment. All three have in common thatContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tetze: Doing Battle In Jewish”
the Month of Elul: Dreaming Like a Jew
Consider this story, from 19th century Poland, a time when Jews eagerly embraced modernity as a way out of persecution and oppression: A maskil, that is, a Jew who valued secular knowledge, and was, further, the kind of maskil who disdained Jewish teachings as primitive, went to the Kotzker Rabbi one day and said, “in the TalmudContinue reading “the Month of Elul: Dreaming Like a Jew”
Shabbat Shoftim: You Too Are a Judge, and Must Be
The beginning of parashat Shoftim calls for us to ensure justice in the communities in which we live. שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים, תִּתֶּן-לְךָ בְּכָל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ, לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ; וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת-הָעָם, מִשְׁפַּט-צֶדֶק. Set up judges and officers in all your gates, everywhere that you are privileged to live by G*d’s grace. The judges must judge theContinue reading “Shabbat Shoftim: You Too Are a Judge, and Must Be”
Shabbat Ki Tavo: What Kind of Jew Are You?
This week’s parashah begins with a rare example of actual prayer formula in ancient Israel. Most of the time, “prayer”, that is, seeking to communicate with G-d, was expressed in a non-verbal form, that of sacrifice. A close look at the book VaYikra (Leviticus) will demonstrate the truth my former teacher taught in his book TheContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tavo: What Kind of Jew Are You?”
Shabbat Ki Tetze: There Are No Small Details
Judaism is full of lofty ideals and ethical standards, but if you only know your religion in this way you are missing out on a layer of Jewishness which is much closer to home. (No, not the “cultural Judaism” layer of eating bagels….) It’s the “what do I do right now?” layer, what we mightContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tetze: There Are No Small Details”
Selikhot meditation: justice is not enough
The days grow fewer until we reach what our tradition calls The Great Day of Judgement. On this Motza’ey Shabbat, as the Shabbat concludes, the Ashkenazi community begins daily midnight prayers of Selikhot, asking for forgiveness. In these prayers we consider: how are we to be judged? in other words, how are we to best do G-d’sContinue reading “Selikhot meditation: justice is not enough”
Shabbat Shoftim: לא אנחנו ולו אנחנו
the Hebrew phrase in the title of this message is a play on words: lo anakhnu with an alef means “not we ourselves” and lo anakhu with a vav means “we are His”. This play on words comes from Psalm 100. In verse 3 it is written: “G-d has made us and not we ourselves”, but in theContinue reading “Shabbat Shoftim: לא אנחנו ולו אנחנו”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 