Vayikra
Parashat Emor
Mitzvah, Not Magic By Rabbi Allen Darnov Parashat Emor begins with laws restricting the priests, the sons of Aaron, from contact with the dead: “The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to … Continue reading »
Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim
By Rabbi Ziona Zelazo Turning Mundane Holiness into Sacred Holiness I often wonder how an esoteric term like “holy” entered our lexicon. People use terms like “Holier than Thou”, “Holy Smokes” or “Holy Cow” all the time. These terms probably … Continue reading »
Parashat Tazria-Metzora
By Rabbi Eric Milgrim Our Torah is divided into 54 regular parashiyot. In a leap year (7 times in every 19 year cycle) each parashah is read on a separate Shabbat so that the annual cycle of Torah readings are … Continue reading »
Parashat Shemini
Untimely Death and the “Pesikta D’Rav Kahana” By Rabbi Paul Bender Parashat Shemini and its normally coupled Haftarah (II Samuel 6:1-7:17) both contain stories of the unnatural and instantaneous death by God’s hand, of apparently well meaning and respected characters, … Continue reading »
Parashat Tzav/Shabbat HaGadol
By Rabbi Regina L. Sandler-Phillips WHO’S ROBBING GOD? The future of life on earth depends upon whether we among the richest fifth of the world’s people, having fully met our material needs, can turn to non-material sources of fulfillment. Alan … Continue reading »
Parashat Vayikra
by Rabbi Sanford Olshansky Many American Jews say they don’t like ritual. Nevertheless, most of us are creatures of ritual, although we may call it habit.We have rituals for how we begin our day and prepare for work, whether or … Continue reading »
Parashat Behukkotai
By Rabbi Halina Rubinstein In this week’s portion, the last in the Book of Leviticus, Moses relates to the people of Israel the blessings that God will bestow if they obey God’s commandments and the curses in store for them … Continue reading »
Parashat Behar
By Rabbi Bruce Alpert Here’s the scene: I open the door to the cupboard or refrigerator and stare intently at its contents. Perhaps I rearrange things a bit to discover what might be hiding in a remote corner. I stare … Continue reading »
Parashat Emor
By Rabbi Bob Freedman It’s surprising that there is no blessing to be said before giving tzedakah. Certainly it’s an important mitzvah, but unlike other mitzvot that require us to say a formula to engage mind and spirit before we … Continue reading »
Parashat Kedoshim
By Rabbi Maralee Gordon We learn from Rabbi Akiva that the greatest principle in the Torah is V’ahavta l’reyakha kamokha- Love your fellow as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). That teaching is found in this week’sparashah, Kedoshim, part of the Holiness Code. Sometimes we stop reading at … Continue reading »