Articles in D’varim
Ki Tavo: The Joy Imperative
Joy is an imperative in the Jewish tradition. In describing the terrible calamities in store for our people if we turn from G-d, the Torah says it will occur, “because you did not serve G-d, your G-d, with happiness and gladness of heart, when [you had an] abundance of everything.”[1]
In …
Ki Tetze: A License To Eat
When you work in your fellow’s vineyard, you have a license to eat his grapes. When you visit your neighbor’s vineyard, you don’t have a license to eat. If you pluck a grape during a visit without permission, it is theft.
How much can you eat if you work in the …
Shoftim: The Individual
Today I want to talk to you about the individual. When nations go to war, they institute mandatory drafts. Wartime drafts are different from peacetime drafts. In peacetime drafts, soldiers are eligible for all kinds of exemptions. During war, everyone must serve. Exemptions are rare.
In Jewish law, however, it is …
Re’e: The Pivot
In the course of life, there are always moments of pivot. A moment when we recognize that we have strayed from the proper path, and we pivot—reverse course and head in the opposite direction. The moment of pivot is, at the risk of sounding cliché, pivotal. It isn’t merely a …
Vaetchanan: The Full Moon
This Shabbat will be special because the full moon will shine on Friday night. The full moon occurs every month but is most important in the month of Av. The Temple’s destruction on the ninth day of this month was the low point in Jewish history. At that time, it …
Devarim: Response to Suffering
Suffering is sadly familiar to Jews. We have a long and painful history of suffering. Our sages taught that the Torah was given on Mount Sinai because Sinai is etymologically similar to sinah, which means hatred. From the day that we were chosen to become a light unto the nations, …
Nitzavim Vayelech: A Nation of One
The Torah portion that we read this Shabbat describes the Jewish people as a nation of one. “You all stand this day before G-d, your G-d the leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel. your young children, your women, and your convert within your camp, …
Ki Tavo: Removed the Holy
In ancient Jerusalem, Jews would go the Temple every three years and proclaim, “I have removed the holy [portion] from my home.” What does it mean to remove the holy portion from the house?
Here is the background. Every year, the field owner would give a portion of his crop to …
