Search results for: Ki Tetze

by Rabbi Isaac Mann Parashat Ki Tetze is replete with laws and regulations, some of which are found elsewhere in the Torah and some of which are partially or completely new. It would appear that the section towards the end of the parashah (Deut. 25:13-16) that deals with honest weights and measures is of the Read More >

By Rabbi Leonard Levin A famous midrash tells how Moses argued with the angels that the Torah, though a creature of heaven, was destined for use on earth.  œDo you have urges to murder, to commit adultery, to steal? We earthly creatures, who are imperfect, need laws to tame our urges and work for self-improvement. Read More >

September 11th: Remembering to Forget, Forgetting to Remember By Rabbi Regina L. Sandler-Phillips   “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, in your going-out from Egypt….erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens; do not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:17, 19). As we approach the 10th anniversary of the tragedies that shook our city, Read More >

A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tetzei By Rabbi Bruce Alpert ('11) As a rabbinical student, I attended a lecture taught by a sofer - a scribe - who demonstrated for us some of the tools he used in creating a Torah scroll. Among them was a sheet of parchment covered with ink blotches. The scribe showed Read More >

The Paradox of Memory By Rabbi Allen Darnov It is amusing how Jews curse enemies by reciting the enemy's name and then adding the phrase in Hebrew (or Yiddish) "may his name be blotted out" We might say something like "...that evil Hitler, may his name be blotted out!..." Amusing, because one cannot rub a Read More >

By Susan Elkodsi   "And Jacob left Beersheva, and he went to Haran. And he arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set" (Gen. 28:10-11). The term bashert is often used when speaking about falling in love, or when something happens that we truly feel was "meant to be." We read that Jacob Read More >

What is a Half Shekel Worth? A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Tissa By Rabbi Irwin Huberman ('10) About three years ago, a mysterious envelope with no return address arrived on my desk. I opened it cautiously, slowly pulling out a blank white folded card which contained half of a twenty dollar bill. Was this Read More >

By Rabbi David Greenstein According to traditional enumerations of the mitzvoth (commandments) in the Torah, our portion includes 74 ordinances, more than any other portion. These mitzvoth encompass the full range of the Torah's concerns for how we are to meet the challenge of our paradoxical beings, made up, as we are, of both physical Read More >

by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky This week’s parashah, Ki Tisa, includes one of the most dramatic episodes in the entire Torah, the Golden Calf. The description found in the Torah has rebellion, passion, emotion, idolatry, and violence, all of the ingredients needed for a good story. I would like to focus on something that happened after Read More >

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D'var Torah A D'var Torah for Parashat Ki Teitzei By Rabbi Doug Alpert ('12) Entering the month of Elul – a time for great introspection and personal reflection leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I, and at the risk of being presumptuous, we, are experiencing Read More >