This week’s Torah portion speaks of the mysterious lesions that appeared on the skin of those who trafficked in gossip. Their punishment was at once severe and precise: they were cast into isolation for up to three weeks, until their affliction healed.
The Torah enumerates many forms of ritual impurity. Some …
The Odd Celebration
Simchat Torah is a festive holiday. We carry the Torah scroll around the Bimah (Torah reading table) and dance the night away. The reason for this great joy is the completion of our annual cycle of Torah reading.[1] Every Shabbat we chant a portion from the Torah and …
Why the Replica?
Have you ever noticed that we go out of our way to turn the Sanctuary into a replica of the Bet Hamikdash, the ancient temple?
Our Sanctuaries have arks in which the Torah scroll is housed just as the Temple housed an Ark for the Tablets. The Ark is …
I want to tell you about the modern Chanukah message, but first we must begin with the old Chanukah tale.
“The strong in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few.” This is how our liturgy describes the Chanukah miracle. The strong are the Syrian Greek …
Have you ever heard of Jewish guilt? Well, of course. If you have a Jewish mother, you know about Jewish guilt. But the truth is that Jews have little to do with guilt. In fact, the Catholics claim to have cornered the market on guilt. Considering the Catholic doctrine of …
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
