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 …
Rain doesn’t fall often in Israel. There is a rainy season that feeds the river, tributaries, and the lake, but rain isn’t always in plentiful supply. Some years, the rains are minimal, and the country suffers. The Torah (Deuteronomy 11:11) characterizes Israel as a place where rain is the sole …
Every year, the world gears up for the Superbowl, and even people who don’t follow football take an interest. Somehow, the NFL has captured the imagination of the masses; the show, the glitz, the contest, and the party combine to make it an entertaining evening.
The fans see the final product. …
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 …
On Simchat Torah we read the last passage of the Torah, but we don’t stop for even a moment when we finish reading the Torah. Instead, we turn around and start over immediately from the first verse. There are many celebrations on Simchat Torah, but they come before we read …
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 …
