Rabbi Shabbat Greetings
Shabbat Greetings
This week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27), begins with one of the most famous calls in the Torah: “Lech lecha” – “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s…
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This week’s Torah portion, Noach (Genesis 6:9 – 11:32), begins with one of the Torah’s starkest descriptions of a society in crisis: “The earth became corrupt before God, and the earth was filled…
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This week we begin again. We open the Torah at the very beginning: Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz — “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) …
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There is something wonderfully strange about the holiday we celebrate on this Shabbat. Sukkot lasts seven days. We know that from the Torah. And then, just when we think the festival…
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Sukkot is sometimes called Z’man Simchateinu – the season of our joy. And yet, there is something almost strange about the way we celebrate this joy: we leave our sturdy homes and…
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There is something especially meaningful about having a Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We have begun the work of teshuvah: of repentance, reflection, and change and then Judaism gives us…
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On this Shabbat as we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we are asked to do something that is both simple and profoundly difficult: to remember. We remember the year that has passed. We…
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This Shabbat is different from other Shabbatot. We stand at the threshold of a new year, just before Selichot, just before Rosh Hashanah. In additiion, this year, there is another…
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This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8), is often remembered for its dramatic blessings and curses, but it begins in a much quieter place: gratitude. “When you enter the land… you…
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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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