Mindful Torah...and more

The joyous, introspective time of soul searching begins at sundown tonight with the start of Rosh Hashanah, the New Year.  As we light the candles to welcome the holy day, it is good to remember that bringing light where there is darkness first requires darkness.  And seeking forgiveness means there are things for which we need to be forgiven.  May we all do our best to bring in the light, forgive ourselves, forgive others and seek forgiveness from those whom we have harmed and from God. L'shanah tovah, A good year to you all SPN Rekindling the flame:  a poem for the evening of Rosh Hashanah we come together tonight   as one community extended family in celebration apples and honey wine and challah fill our bellies gladden our spirits candles glow flickering beacons illuminating the room and our souls then suddenly candles are extinguished some unknown force seems to plunge us the world around us into darkness I

This week's parashah /portion, Ki Tetzei ( Devarim / Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19), contains the greatest number of mitzvot /commandments of any Torah portion. The 72 mitzvot found in the parashah focus on such diverse issues as the treatment of captives, defiant children, lost animals, suspected adulterers and the poor. This amalgam of mitzvot may seem random at times, and yet there is a guiding principle which reminds us not to be indifferent to other people and the world around us. One of the mitzvot found in the parashah is that we must return lost property, no matter what it may be or how long ago we may have discovered it. There is a Hassidic tale which relates to this mitzvah . In the story there was a man who came to the great Rabbi Aaron of Chernobyl to tell him of a terrible recurring nightmare that he was having. In the nightmare the man found a wallet containing a fortune. When he could not find the owner in the crowd he kept the money; with it became even w

In this week's parashah /portion is Eikev ( D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25), Moses continues to address the people in preparation for his death and their entry into the land of Canaan. He recounts for them what occurred at Sinai, including the incident of the Golden Calf. In addition, he continually reminds them of the blessings that they will receive from God if they obey the commandments and the curses that shall befall them if they do not. He then recounts the miracles that God performed for them in the desert and the promise that God will slowly, but surely, dislodge the inhabitants of Canaan so that they can inherit the land promised to their ancestors. For my commentary I would like to focus on two specific passages: 1) "Remember the long way that YHWH, your God, has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that God might afflict you as a test in order to discover what is in your heart and whether or not you would keep God's commandments

This week's parashah /portion is Va'etchanan ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11). This portion contains within it some of the central ideas and texts of the Torah and of all of Judaism. The portion begins with Moses saying to the people: “And I pleaded [ va'etchanan ] with God at that time....” The time of which he is speaking is when he pleaded to God to be allowed to enter the Promised Land together with the people. God had forbidden Moses to enter the Land and Moses pleaded with God to be allowed to cross over the Jordan River with the people. But God did not grant Moses's plea. And so now Moses is speaking to the people as they prepare to be led across the Jordan by Joshua. And so, Moses begins to recount what happened during the 40 years of wandering. For those about to cross into the Land were either children or not yet born when the journey began some 40 years earlier.  The words of the parashah reminds the people that the Eternal is the only God in he