Search results for: Ki Tavo

Click HERE  for an audio recording of this D'var Torah A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman Parashat Ki Tavo begins with two mitzvot which are declarations. The first is that of Bikkurim - the first fruits. This declaration is very familiar to us as it forms the basis of the Maggid section of the seder (Arami Oveid Avi… (Deut 26:5-10). The Read More >

By Rabbi Emily Korzenik Very early in the portion, Ki Tavo presents the Torah as familiar and beloved. My father was wandering Aramean and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us Read More >

By Steve Altarescu If Deuteronomic theology has not troubled you so far, Ki Tavo will now challenge you as it pushes the concept of reward and punishment to the limit. For the purpose of review here are some highlights of this theology from earlier in the Book of Deuteronomy.  œGive heed to the laws ¦that you Read More >

A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo by Rabbi Bruce Alpert ('11) One of the sublime joys of studying at AJR is experiencing tefillah in its community - especially at Retreat. Being in a room with 70 or 80 people, each of whom is, in some way, expert at Jewish prayer, is wondrous. And with a leader Read More >

Coming of the Messiah: Sooner or Later? A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Irwin Huberman ('10) Perhaps no Jewish themed text has been more quoted in recent times than the 1971 theater production, Fiddler on the Roof. In one of Fiddler’s closing scenes, as residents of the fictional town of Anatevka continue Read More >

  A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Heidi Hoover ('11) In the megahit musical Hamilton, there is a song with the repeated line, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrMkdZtqiVI). The way that we know who we are and where we come from is through stories. Sometimes we call them Read More >

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D'var Torah A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Ariann Weitzman ('11)Many of us spend an incredible amount of time figuring out how to make someone else listen, whether it’s to our instructions, our needs, our anxieties, or just our day-to-day thoughts and feelings. Listening Read More >

By Rabbi Halina Rubenstein One of the most rewarding experiences of my rabbinical career has been teaching conversion classes. It is exhilarating seeing the students learning Judaism step by step and then witnessing their evolving Jewish identity when everything you have been teaching congeals and becomes love and acceptance. The close relationship that the students Read More >

By Rabbi Jaron Matlow   Lately I have been focusing on Theodicy, the problem of evil in the world. Over the last several years, I have experienced a number of health issues that left me on total disability. In Parashat Ekev, we are told that if we follow God s Torah, God  œwill remove all sickness Read More >

A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of talking with someone interested in converting to Judaism. Since the pandemic, I have noticed an uptick in people interested in converting with me. In the conversation, I asked them more about themselves, their story, and their interest in casting their lot with the Jewish people. And although I’ve heard several answers now to this question of “Why do you want to convert?”, I had never heard this one before.