Torah Portion

In this week’s Torah portion, Shelah, the nation stands on the threshold of the Land of Canaan, which will later be called the Land of Israel.

This week’s parasha shows us several different kinds of speech illustrate a range of values expressed in language.

After about a year of camping near Mount Sinai, the children of Israel began moving toward the Promised Land.

We know how overwhelming the temptation is to put faith in the material world. We all crave things and believe on some level that the proper arrangement of stuff will keep us happy and keep us safe.

Why is peace such a fundamental component of a Jew’s life? And what is the ideal peace for which we yearn?

There will always be people enchanted by the openness of the world, who neglect the necessity for order.

God’s speaking to Moses – more than reflecting holiness, reflects the intimacy of direct communication and connection with the creator.

The more we explore “if” the more lightning we find in the word.

In the agricultural context in which the Torah was received, land was the main source of income, and owning a lot of land was a source of wealth.

If you are not to hold a grudge, what ought one to do?

The commandment that envelops this parasha throughout is “You shall be holy!”

Coming off a pandemic, when so many have been isolated, we might be inclined to view all isolation as punitive.

From the stories in the Torah of people with leprosy, we can infer what the social impairment is that leads to this impurity: gossip, slandering the name of someone else.

Reading this week’s Torah portion reveals several different staircases connecting the Mishkan and Shabbat.

We notice a phrase that is repeated often while the Torah describes the execution of the directions: “As the Lord commanded Moses.” This phrase is repeated no fewer than 19 times.

Should we be like our clothes?

This story is yet another chapter in the battle between Amalek and the Jewish nation.

The building of the mishkan did not change God, but it changed Israel. God may be the same everywhere, but we are not.

How can one uphold both truth and peace, and then go so far as to claim that the world can only exist when both truth and peace exist?

Parashat Yitro and Parashat Mishpatim are seen as a continuum.

Moses shows true emotion upon seeing Jethro.

The parasha is called Yitro because it begins with the story of Jethro coming to the Israelites’ encampment.

All of us carry a great deal through life – memories, aspirations, relationships, burdens, natural gifts.

This Shabbat is termed Shabbat Shira for Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea, read in this parasha.