18 Av 5780

By templenj | August 7, 2020

Parshat Eikev

11 Av 5780

By templenj | July 31, 2020

July 31, 2020 One of the more fascinating narratives in the Torah is the one surrounding the fate of Moses and his passionate effort to gain entry into the Promised…

4 Av 5780

By templenj | July 24, 2020

July 24,2020 Concerned parents often ask me: What does Judaism say about education for those who need more help in learning? For thousands of years, Judaism has been very clear…

26 Tammuz 5780

By templenj | July 17, 2020

July 17, 2020 This week we read the final double portion in the Book of Numbers – Matot -Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13). During the later part of Numbers we read about a lot…

19 Tammuz 5780

By templenj | July 10, 2020

Parshat Pinchas

12 Tammuz 5780

By templenj | July 3, 2020

Chukat Balak

5 Tammuz 5780

By templenj | June 26, 2020

June 26, 2020 The rebellion of Korach and his allies is recounted in this week’s Torah reading (Numbers 16:1-18:32). The story is fantastical in its depiction of the miraculous way that the…

28 Sivan 5780

By templenj | June 19, 2020

Parshat Shelach Lecha

21 Sivan 5780

By templenj | June 12, 2020

June 12, 2020 This week’s Shabbat greetings is a combined influence of the words of Rabbi Bonnie of Temple Chai of Phoenix, AZ and the Rev. John Armstrong of New…

14 Sivan 5780

By templenj | June 9, 2020

June 5, 2020 Last week, I explained why we have split up the Torah portion, Naso (Numbers 6:1-7:89) into two parts.  This week’s second part includes the famous Birkat HaKohanim – the Priestly…

7 Sivan 5780

By templenj | June 9, 2020

May 29, 2020 The first part of the portion of Parshat Naso (Numbers 4:21-5:31) (divided into two weeks when Shavuot occurs on Shabbat so that we can stay in sync with Diaspora…

29 Iyar 5780

By templenj | May 22, 2020

May 22, 2020 This portion that begins the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20) is generally read on the Shabbat before the festival of Shavuot – z’man matan torateinu – “the time of the…