This week, with Parshat Masei, we complete the reading of the book of Numbers. The parshah begins with a description of the journeys of the children of Israel as they make their way through the wilderness towards the Promised Land. The Torah recounts each stop on...
Ah Leviticus. Here we go again. As a teacher of B'nei Mitzvah students, Leviticus is the bane of my existence. Although it may have interesting lessons to teach, it is very difficult for 12 year olds to relate to and understand. They may be able to grasp the concept...
The fashion conscious people of the world know it to be true: “Clothes make the man.” What we wear has a profound effect not only on how others see us, but on how we see ourselves. I learned this when I was first graduating from Cantorial school. Our first interviews...
This week is Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath during which we read the Song of the Sea from the Torah. This is the moment in the text when the Israelites have finally escaped slavery, and they come upon the Sea of Reeds. Moses holds his staff up and the waters,...
“Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway...
"And now, O Israel, what does the Eternal One your G-d demand of you? Only this: to revere/ fear (yirah) the Eternal One, your G-d, to walk only in G-d’s paths, to love G-d, and to serve the Eternal One, your G-d, with all your heart and soul." (Deuteronomy 10:12)....
“You shall love the Eternal One, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” These strange words, made familiar by sheer repetition in the V’ahavtah, appear in this week’s Torah portion, V’etchanan. A commandment to love? It doesn’t...
“A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.” These words appear at the beginning of Parashat Tzav (Lev 6:6), this week’s Torah portion. How do you keep a perpetual fire burning? You have to feed it constantly. If you neglect it, it will...
This week's Torah portion contains a rather disturbing verse. In Exodus chapter 35:2 we read: "On six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day, you shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Eternal One; whoever does any work on it shall be put to...
As a teacher who loves to teach, “diligently” doesn’t come to mind as the best word to describe how we should teach our children. Lovingly, gently, and passionately are all adverbs that to me describe good teaching. The English teacher that I loved taught me to enjoy...