Parsha

Parashat Mishpatim: All or nothing

Loyalty to a path means saying, “I belong. Sometimes I will fail, sometimes I will err, but I am all in.” This is completely different from saying “I like this, but I don’t like that.”

Piano
The Knesset building

Parashat Mishpatim: The long search for moral society

Exodus from Egypt (Edward Poynter)

Parashat Bo: Jeremiah’s timeless promise to Israel

Torah scroll 521

Jacob’s warning: Enthusiasm without restraint threatens a nation - opinion


Parashat Lech Lecha: Abraham and Lot - A study in greatness

The differences between Abraham and Lot chart the future - In this week’s Torah portion God tells Abraham to go and each generation of our people is taken along on his journey. 

 God's Promises to Abram, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), gouache on board, 4 13/16 x 5 7/8 in. (12.3 x 15 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York.

Parashat Lech Lecha: Justice – the source of blessing

Abraham’s unique path - and ours nowadays - is to pursue justice and perform acts of loving-kindness.

Lady Justice

Why is Abraham the chosen one?

Shouldn’t this great man be introduced along with his heroic credentials? Why is this his past résumé kept confidential?

 ABRAHAM TENDING his flock.

Parashat Vayelech: Who writes your story?

The notion that Moses received everything on the mountain in the Book of Exodus runs into considerable problems, as our sages knew.

REMBRANDT'S MOSES with the Ten Commandments

Parashat Vayelech: The concealed face of God

Why is a punishment in the Torah described as "the concealment of God’s face" , and what is the meaning of this?

FAITH IN God allows us to see beyond the horizon

Nitzavim and Returnings

In Judaism, we emphasize the past through saying Kaddish (the Mourner’s Prayer) and Yizkor (the Memorial Prayer).

THE TORAH takes center stage on Shavuot.

Parashat Nitzavim: Two rules for getting lost

 On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we have the chance to stop, and admit that in our lives we are lost. We can reset our spiritual GPS, and begin anew.

A 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible,was unveiled at the Museum of the Bible on November 8, 2019.

Parashat Nitzavim: Who cleanses you?

Centuries of sin, exile and distance created a sort of spiritual cover over the heart that thickened as time passed.

Rabbi Amedeo Spagnoletto with 13th century Torah scroll

Don't forget to say thank you

Too often we perceive our great achievements as a testament to our greatness and fall prey to “And you may say in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand made this victory’.”

  FROZEN PEAR TREE in Australia

What do mamzerim have to face in Israel?

The mamzer status not only prevents people from marrying in Israel, but puts children at serious risk of abuse. Meet the organization working to change this.

 A toddler girl crying