This coming Shabbat is Shabbat Re’eh. We study a parashah named for the command “see!” רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה See, this day I set before you blessing and curse (Devarim 11.26) It is the second Shabbat of Consolation, a time in which our tradition urges us to lift up our heads from the searing despair of TishaContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Seeing Hope, Being Blessing”
Tag Archives: mitzvot
Shabbat Ekev: Listen With Care
Which of us is not angry, disappointed, even resentful, of the way our lives have changed in the past few years? Aren’t we all getting very tired of the stress served up daily by the media, infusing our every interaction with each other? Of course, there is more than one response to this situation. InContinue reading “Shabbat Ekev: Listen With Care”
Shabbat Re’eh: Blessing, and Curse, and Charlottesville
This Shabbat our parashah begins with words that are both simple and profound: רְאֵה, אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם–הַיּוֹם: בְּרָכָה, וּקְלָלָה. Look, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: אֶת-הַבְּרָכָה–אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ, אֶל-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתכֶם, הַיּוֹם. blessing, if you hold to the mitzvot of HaShem your God, which you are givenContinue reading “Shabbat Re’eh: Blessing, and Curse, and Charlottesville”
Shabbat Ekev: Can You Hear the Footsteps?
Our parashat hashavua, the part of the Torah we study this week, is called Ekev. The word refers to a certain sense of causality: “it will happen that all will be well with you because you follow the divine law” says Moshe to the Israelites: as a result of your devotion to this path, youContinue reading “Shabbat Ekev: Can You Hear the Footsteps?”
Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: Choices Don’t Free You, They Distract You
On any given day, we are confronted with choices, and have to make a decision regarding how best to choose; that is, how best to live. In some ways we imagine that our lives are so much better than our ancestors, who, we presume, made their choices from a much narrower range of options, andContinue reading “Shabbat Akharei Mot-Kedoshim: Choices Don’t Free You, They Distract You”
Shabbat Ekev: What Happens When You Listen
This week our parashat hashavua (parsha, “section”, of the week) is named Ekev. The word literally means “heel”, as in Jacob/Yaakov’s name, given to him because he emerged from the womb holding on to his brother Esav’s heel. This same word ekev paired with another conjugation of shema leads the Jewishly attuned ear to an entirelyContinue reading “Shabbat Ekev: What Happens When You Listen”
Shabbat Mishpatim: Kavanah is in the Details
In contrast to other religious paths, Judaism offers spiritual growth within a clear and coherent framework. The word halakhah – our “path” – is understood more commonly as our “law” because of the many mitzvot (“obligations”) which serve us as signposts along the way. Our parashat hashavua for this week contains fifty-three such mitzvot, and eachContinue reading “Shabbat Mishpatim: Kavanah is in the Details”
Shabbat VaYeshev: Choices and Exile
In this week’s parashah we follow Joseph down to Egypt. This is a time of terror for him: his brothers sell him as a slave and he is taken far away from home. He is bought by a minister to Pharaoh and seems to be doing well; he gains his master’s trust and is putContinue reading “Shabbat VaYeshev: Choices and Exile”
Shabbat Nitzavim-VaYelekh: Where Do You Stand?
Where do you stand as a Jew? On this Shabbat we are called upon to focus upon this question. Nitzavim means “to stand firm” and in these days, as we count down the final hours until Rosh HaShanah, this Shabbat is a moment of welcome quiet. Even as the students among us have just begunContinue reading “Shabbat Nitzavim-VaYelekh: Where Do You Stand?”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 