Rabbi Shabbat Greetings

This week’s portion, Ki Tetzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19) contains more mitzvot (commandments) than any other portion. While the laws seem unrelated, they share a common message: holilness is found in the ordinary. The Torah teaches that…

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Tonight marks exactly four weeks until we gather to welcome the new year, 5787. Elul began yesterday and the horizon of the New Year is coming into view. We read Shoftim (Deuteronomy…

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This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17)begins with a powerful invitation: “See (Re’eh), I place before you today a blessing and a curse.” (11:26) The Torah does not say, “Listen,” or “Understand.” It says, “See.” Seeing…

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There is a quiet irony in the Jewish calendar. Just a little more than a week after we mourn the destruction of the Temples on Tisha B’Av, we begin reading Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25),…

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Having just emerged from Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av), we carry with us the memory of destruction; not only the destruction of the Holy Temple, but…

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This Shabbat has a name. It is called Shabbat Chazon – the “Sabbath of Vision,” named for the opening words of Isaiah’s haunting vision (Isaiah 1:1-27): “Chazon Yeshayahu…” We read these words on the…

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In our double-portion concluding the Book of Numbers, Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13), the Torah does something unexpected. It lists every place the Israelites camped during their forty years in the wilderness. Forty-two stops.…

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We read Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1), a Torah portion that looks toward the future of the Jewish people. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, giving thanks for…

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There is something fitting about reading the double portions of Chukat/Balak (Numbers 19:1-25:9) while preparing to sit beside the ocean this evening with our friends from Monmouth Reform Temple. The Torah portions take us…

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In this week’s Torah portion, Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32), we encounter a story about leadership, responsibility, and the challenges that arise when people lose sight of what binds a community together. Korach and his followers…

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