Community Blog

          Shabbat Shalom! As you know, this week’s Torah portion is Parashat Noah and we are celebrating the animals! There is so much we can learn from animal behavior, and opportunities to model ourselves after the pure nature of our furry loved ones. Talmud Bavli teaches, “Rabbi Yochanan said: ‘Had we not been given the Torah, we would have been able to learn...Read more...

Nachas-A Yiddish word meaning that you are happy and proud, especially of the...Read more...

          Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach! Tonight we celebrate Sukkot, our Jewish harvest festival. It is often a time for feeling connected to nature, as we celebrate outside and many people have a practice of decorating the sukkah exclusively with organic material, such as foodstuffs and other plants. Next week, as Sukkot gives way to Simchat Torah, the season...Read more...

Boker Tov and Shana Tova. I am guessing right about now most of you are hungry. Some of you may be fasting, and the discomfort of it is really starting to hit. Some of you may not be fasting, but it is getting to be pretty late into the morning and maybe you’re starting to think about lunch. We usually spend a lot of Yom Kippur in prayer, conversation, study, and maybe sneak in a nap – anything to keep our minds...Read more...

           Shabbat Shalom. This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Ha’azinu, which means “Give ear” and records the final song of Moses as he calls down heaven and earth as witnesses to the Israelites final acceptance of the covenant before he dies and they enter the holy land.

            We stand now on a similar, though hopefully less dramatic, precipice. Much has happened in this year that highlighted and accelerated issues our country has long faced. We may soon see a transition of power like that of Moses to Joshua, but regardless of who is at the head of the nation, we are all responsible for ensuring justice for everyone, and promoting peace among our neighbors. Read more...

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            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Ki Tavo. We read about the practice of tithing the first fruits of the field, followed by some great political theater in which Moses splits up the tribes and sends them to two different mountains, then calls out blessings to one mountain and that half of the Israelites all say, “Amen!” and...Read more...

            Shabbat Shalom. This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Ki Teitzei, which includes many commandments that may seem problematic for our modern sensitivities, but were actually incredibly revolutionary for their time. Commenting on an earlier part of Deuteronomy, Nachmanides says, “It is impossible to mention in the Torah all human conduct with...Read more...

            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Shoftim, which is unlike much of Deuteronomy in that it actually introduces some new laws rather than being primarily recaps of previous Moses speeches. This parasha is concerned with the leadership of the Jewish people, how we are to govern ourselves, who to trust as prophets, judges, and...Read more...

            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Eikev, in which Moses continues his long final address to the Israelites, warning them to remember that all their good fortune derives from God and any loss of faith in God will have disastrous results for them. Part of this includes what comes to be the second paragraph of the v’ahavta in traditional prayer books –...Read more...

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                Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Pinchas, in which we read briefly of God’s praise over Pinchas the priest killing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman for coupling. The Torah then segues on to another census, and the story of five daughters claiming their father’s portion of land since he left no son to inherit his estate....Read more...

            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Korach, the story of a man who gathered supporters and challenged Moses’s authority. We had a very interesting conversation about this in our Torah study this week, and in the end I think I came around to understanding the traditional commentaries on this parasha and God’s extreme reactions. However, I still want to...Read more...

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