Mindful Torah...and more

Dear Hevre/community: As you know, I usually try to avoid direct political or partisan commentaries. However, when the political and the spiritual/religious values that I believe are at the heart of Jewish teaching collide (or intersect) I feel it is my duty to discuss the issues. And that is the case in so many ways this week. As someone once said (it's been attributed to many) our job is to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." I believe with this commentary (at least for some) I may be doing the latter, but it's in service of achieving the former. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Steve This week's parashah /portion is Emor ( Vayikra /Leviticus 21:1-24:23). In this parashah we find the commandments to observe the three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach /Passover, Sukkot (the Feast of Booths) and Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), which later became associated with the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai,  Immediately following the instructions we find a reiteration of...

Dear Hevre/community, This week we read in synagogue a double portion/ parashah  od  Acharei Mot/Kedoshim .   Acharei Mot  means “after death,” as it takes place following the death of Aaron's two sons Nadav and Avihu. The parashah consists of ethical and ritual laws concerning, sacrifice, Yom Kippur rituals, dietary restrictions and sexual prohibitions. These laws were an integral part of creating a new society/ The second  parashah   is  Kedoshim , which means holiness.  It includes the Holiness Code of Leviticus/ Vayikra  Chapter 19. In this code we are given a series of commandments and laws which given to teach that we are all meant to be holy because God is holy, and we are created in God's image. And so the essence of the text is the creation of a society based on holiness which is not only dedicated to God, but who imitate God. Throughout the Torah we are commanded to be a people erable: the orphan, the widow and the stranger ...

This week's parashah /portion Shemini ( Vayikra /Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47) begins with the last phase of the installation ceremony of Aaron and his sons as the Kohanim /High Priests in the Mishkan /Tabernacle which the Israelites constructed in order to worship God during their time of wandering in the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan.  During the installation ceremony Aaron and his sons perform the first animal sacrifices, which are consumed by fire coming from heaven. No sooner are the sacrifices completed, when two of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, decide to make sacrifices on their own, without being instructed by God or their father to do so.  When they bring “strange fire which God had not commanded” to the altar, fire again descends from the heavens, but this time it consumes Nadav and Avihu. This is a strange and troubling end to the narrative. And yet it is not the end of the parashah, for not long after it continues with a list of animals which are...

This week’s parashah /portion is Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1- 5:26) In this Torah portion, the first in the book of Vayikra /Leviticus, we read the descriptions of the laws of animal sacrifice. God explains to Moses the different sacrifices that atone for guilt or sins, and distinguishes between sins committed inadvertently and sins committed on purpose. It would be easy to disregard this portion, as all animal sacrifices ended with the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. However, in reading the parashah I found two topics that can be meaningful for us today, especially during the current time of physical isolation. The first was the meaning of sacrifice and how it connects with prayer today. The second is the concept of different types of sacrufices for intentional and inadvertent sins. After the destruction of the Temple the Jewish people relied on prayer instead of sacrifice. According to Maimonides (12th century Spain) in his philosophical treat...

Dear Online Hevra/community, I apologize for posting this so late. I wrote it for this past Shabbat as a response to the recent violence in Baltimore and elsewhere.  I had meant to clean it up a little and post it right after Shabbat, but somehow it took a little longer.   I hope you find this meaningful in the face of recent events. L'shalom, SPN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week we read in synagogue a double portion/ parashah  from the Torah called  Acharei Mot/Kedoshim .   Acharei Mot means “after death”. It consists of ethical and ritual laws concerning, sacrifice, Yom Kippur rituals, dietary restrictions and sexual prohibitions. These laws, which were part of creating a new society built on laws and justice, were given “after the death” of Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu, hence the name of the parashah . The second parashah   is  Kedoshim , which means holiness. ...

Dear Hevre /community, I know I have been absent since Rosh Hashanah, but now I hope to get back to writing commentaries and other musings on a more frequent (hopefully weekly) basis. I am starting with an edited/slightly rewritten version of a d'var torah /commentary which I wrote a few years back. I hope you find it meaningful. Shabbat Shalom, Steven -------------------------------- This week's parashah /portion is Behukotai ( Vayikra /  Leviticus 26:3-27:34). This is the final parashah in the book of Vayikra, and in it God tells Moses to say to the people that if they "walk with my statutes and observe my mitzvot /commandments," all will go well for them. However, if they do not, the heavens and earth will dry up and tragedy will befall them. The parashah then describes exactly what this punishment will entail. Personally, I have never liked "reward and punishment theology," nor do I take it literally. But taken as a metaphor the...