Mindful Torah...and more

I have not written any Torah commentaries for this blog in a very long time. However, the unique situation in which we find ourselves was the impetus I needed to get up off the couch and get back to writing (though, in reality, of course, I am actually writing this sitting on my living room couch because I'm stuck at home). Vayakhel-Pekudei  is a double  parashah /portion.  In  Vayakhel , God commands the Israelites not to do any work in the sanctuary on Shabbat. The Israelites gather gifts for God. Moses says that Ohaliab and Bezalel should take the gifts of the Israelites and build God’s Sanctuary.  In  Pekudei , Aaron and the priests are given their clothing for work in the Sanctuary. This marks the completion of the  Mishkan /Tabernacle construction. Moses anoints Aaron and his sons to make their priestly positions official. A cloud descends upon the Tent of Meeting, and God’s presence fills the Tabernacle. This is a time of transitions in the ...

This week's parashah is Be'haalotekha (Numbers/ Be'midbar 8:1-12:16). At the end of the last parashah , immediately following the completion of the building of the mishkan / sanctuary, God spoke to Moses from between the wings of the cherubim that hovered over the Ark. In the opening line of Be'haalotekha Moses God tells Moses that he must instruct Aaron concerning his ascent to kindle the lights of the seven-branch menorah in the mishkan . The light of the menorah represents, among other things, the light of the Divine. The Kabbalists/ mystics imagined that the seven branches of the menorah represented the seven lower sefirot /divine emanations or attributes that human beings can experience in this world. Light as representing God's presence is also found in the image of the fire enshrouded in the cloud that hovered over the mishkan signifying God's presence. According to the text, the fire/presence of God would be seen within a cloud over the mishkan...

This week's Torah parasha /portion is Terumah ( Shemot /Exodus 25:1 - 27:19).   In it , God begins instructing Moshe on how to construct the Mikdash (Tabernacle) , or portable des ert sanctuary .   A key concept can be found in the beginning of the parashah when God says to Moshe, "And let them make Me a sanctuary/holy place that I may dwell among them" (25:8).   The Hebrew word for "I may dwell" is the single word v'shakhanti .   The root of this word is the same as for the word Mishkan , the other name used in the Torah for the Tabernacle.  It appears from this verse that the Mikdash / Mishkan is to be built so that God can dwell in the presence of the people.   Yet isn't God to be found everywhere?   Nahum Sarna, in the JPS Torah commentary, points out that the verb sh-kh-n connotes a temporary, nomadic dwelling, not a permanent home.   In other words, as we find later in the Torah, God dwells periodically in the Mikdash / Mishkan .   ...

Dear online community, I wrote the following commentary for this past Shabbat and for some reason unknown to even me, I never published it. So I hope you enjoy it (or that it at least makes you think) even though it is a little late, though it is certainly still quite timely and relevant! L'shalom, SPN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In general, I try to steer clear of politics in my commentaries. However, the intersection of politics and religion has become such a dominant theme in our society as of late, I felt like I finally needed to add my voice to the discussion. However, in no way do I support the idea that our government's policies should be based in any way on religious teachings. On the contrary, I believe strongly in the separation of church and state as a sacred tenet of America's founding. Yet, I do believe that religious values and beliefs can and do shape the opinions of our politicians and that r...

This week's parashah /portion is tetzaveh ( Shemot / Exodus 27:20 – 30:10). In addition, this Shabbat , which falls just before the festival of Purim, is also called Shabbat Zakhor – the Sabbath of Remembrance. It takes its name from the special additional portion traditionally read from the Torah this week. This portion commands us " Zakhor /Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out from Egypt." Amalek has long been viewed as the archetypal eternal enemy of Israel. According to the narrative in Shemot / Exodus, the nation of Amalek attacked the Israelites while on their journey through the desert. Eventually, they were defeated, with the help of God, as well as Moses having his hands hands held up in the air. As long as they were being held up, the Israelites were victorious. If he were allowed to let them down, the tide would turn. This is read just prior to Purim because Haman,the villain of the Purim story found in the Biblical Book of Esther who tried...

This week's Torah parasha /portion is Terumah ( Shemot /Exodus 25:1 - 27:19).  In this parashah , God begins instructing Moshe on how the mikdash, or portable sanctuary, is to be constructed.  A key concept can be found in the beginning of the parashah when God says to Moshe, "And let them make Me a sanctuary/holy place that I may dwell among them" (25:8).  The Hebrew word for "I may dwell" is v'shakhanti .  The root of this word is shin-khaf-nun the same as for the word mishkan , another name used in the Torah for the wilderness Tabernacle or sanctuary.  It appears from this verse that the mikdash / mishkan is to be built so that God can dwell in the presence of the people.  Yet isn't God to be found everywhere?  Nahum Sarna, in the JPS Torah commentary, points out that the verb sh-kh-n connotes a temporary, nomadic dwelling, not a permanent home.  As we read elsewhere in the Torah, God dwells periodically in the mikdash / mishkan .  ...