Torah Portion


Parashat Vayakhel: A ‘kahal’ at war

ISRAELIS TEND to experience their identity more as members of a nation than as members of local congregations. Pictured: Celebrating Israel’s 77th Independence Day in central Jerusalem, May 1, 2025.

Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Wisdom of the wise

A pile of books.

Purification by fire: The red heifer and Iran

Like the red heifer's ashes, the destruction of Iran's instruments of death can become the catalyst for cleansing. A woman walks on the street following an Israeli and U.S. strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026.