Parsha

Parashat Teruma: Sanctifying the heart

Each person is a walking Temple; each has the power to build a dwelling place for the Creator of the world within his or her heart.

 Stars bursting above the triangular peak of the mountain that may be Mount Sinai in the middle of the night, in Saudi Arabia.
Piano

Parashat Mishpatim: All or nothing

The Knesset building

Parashat Mishpatim: The long search for moral society

Exodus from Egypt (Edward Poynter)

Parashat Bo: Jeremiah’s timeless promise to Israel


Parashat Bechukotai: Why work hard?

There is no more appropriate preparation for Shavuot than profound Torah study.

 Torah study must  involve toil.

Parashat Behar: Who is the servant and who is the master?

The produce grown in shmita year is considered holy, and all agricultural activity – including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting – is forbidden. It is designated for consumption only. 

 Servitude to God is not degradation; it is the path to freedom.

Parsha Emor: Being worthy of one’s role

The more an individual invests in being worthy of his/her role, the better he/she performs his/her role.

 BIRKAT KOHANIM at the Kotel on Succot, Oct. 2, 2023.

Parashat Kedoshim: A society that worships wisdom and understanding is a holy one

This weeks Parasha teaches us that Judaism’s attitude toward the elderly is one of respect and understanding.

 PLAYING BACKGAMMON in downtown Jerusalem.

Vezot habracha: The blessing of the Torah

The parsha opens with: “This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites farewell before he died” (Deut. 33:1).

 FRESH EYES: Lifting a Torah scroll at Yeshiva University in New York, 1950.

What we can learn from the story of those who contributed eagerly, told to stop - opinion

In order to be of help to others, one must be on a certain moral and intellectual level, the writer explains.

 Money jar

Parshat Hayei Sarah: Short, courageous and practical

The second story in this week's parsha is Abraham’s servant going to Haran in Aram Naharayim to search for a bride for Isaac.

 UNDERSTATEMENT: ABRAHAM referred to the entire feast as 'a morsel of bread."

Parshat Hayei Sarah: Ketura, the figure & the kibbutz

Ramban claims Keturah was a Canaanite concubine, based on her description in the Book of Chronicles.

 ON KIBBUTZ Ketura.

Chayei Sarah: What is love?

This is the first time the Torah mentions anyone loving someone, and of course, we are now faced with the question: what is love?

Burial of Sarah (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)

Vayera: The power of respecting others

Abraham is known as the biblical figure who is a gracious host after he leaves God to tend to his guests.

 Angels visiting Abraham by Willem van Herp.