Mindful Torah...and more

I'd like to apologize for posting my commentary on this week's parashah for last Shabbat.  I guess I was celebrating Purim a little early by turning everything around! Since I already did write on Parshat Tetzaveh , I thought I would share a few mindfulness musings on the fact that this Shabbat is also Shabbat Zakhor , the special Shabbat just before the holiday of Purim, which starts on Saturday at sundown.  On this Shabbat we read a special maftir (final portion read from the Torah) which commands us " Zakhor /Remember what Amalek did to us...."  Read on for more explanantion. Shabbat Shalom, Steven Deuteronomy 25: 17 – 19 “ Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, as you came out from Egypt.  How, he fell upon you on the way and cut off all the weak ones at your rear, when you were exhausted and tired, and he didn’t fear God.  So it shall be, when YHWH, your God, will give you rest from all your enemies all around in the land that YHWH, yo...

This week’s parashah is Tetzaveh ( Shemot /Exodus 27:20-30:10). The parashah begins with God commanding Moses “And as for you, you shall instruct the Israelites to bring you pure olive oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling the Eternal Lamp (v. 20).” At first glance it does not appear that there is anything unusual or extraordinary about this verse. God is simply giving Moses another instruction concerning the Mishkan (Tabernacle), just as God instructed him in the last parashah on how he was to build it. However, it is precisely because God’s instructions to Moses had been at the center of the preceding narrative that commentators have questioned why the verse begins "and as for you, you shall command" rather than simply "command" or "you shall command." After all, “and as for you” would seem to imply that the previous verses had been addressed or referred to someone else. In her exploration of this strange wording Aviva Zornberg points ou...

This week's parashah (portion) is Yitro ( Shemot /Exodus 18:1-20:23). It begins with the return of Yitro /Jethro, described in the text as "Moses' father-in-law" and not as Zipporah's father). He comes to Moses with his wife Zipporah and their sons. Upon arriving, the two men embrace. But we read of no reunion between Moses and Zipporah. Later, after Yitro advises Moses on how to better govern the people by choosing able and honest men to help him, the people arrive at Mount Sinai and prepare to receive the word of God. Then, in one of the Torah's most dramatic of moments, God speaks the Ten Commandments (literally, the 'ten utterances') from the mountain. But before God speaks to the people, God instructs Moses on how the people must prepare themselves for revelation: And God said to Moses, “Go to the people and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothes. Let them be ready for the thir...

This week’s parashah is Beshallakh (Exodus/ Shemot 13:17 - 17:16). Among many other things, this parashah contains the splitting and crossing of the Sea of Reeds (or Red Sea, if you prefer the older translations). Most of us are familiar with this event from Bible stories we have read or movies we have seen, and yet there is much more contained within this story than meets the eye. According to midrash (rabbinic lore) the seas split not merely because Moses raised his staff over the water, but because one man dare to enter the waters on his own without waiting for Moses or anyone else to take action. This man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, understood that in order to achieve freedom and salvation we must not merely wait around or pray for it, but we must act as partners with God in order to make it happen! It was Nachshon’s bravery and his faith in the divine-human partnership that enabled him to enter the raging waters even as Moses prayed to God asking for help. Or was it? In a mode...

This week’s parashah , Bo (Shemot/Exodus 10:1-13:16), begins “Then God said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them, and that you may recount in the hearing of your children and your children’s children how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them – in order that you may know that I am God.’” (10:1-2). This is then followed by the onset of the eighth plague of locusts. The parashah continues with the continued hardening of Pharaoh’s heart after the eighth and ninth plagues and then the last plague, the death of the firstborn. The parashah concludes with the commandments to dedicate the first-born of the Israelites to God and to observe Pesakh/Passover. At the end of last week’s parashah, Va’era , the land of Egypt/ Mitzrayim was almost completely decimated by the plague of hail. Mitzrayim , which is connected with...

This week's parashah is Va'era (Exodus/ Shemot 6:2 – 9:35). In this parashah the conversation between God and Moses continues as God gives Moses further instructions on how to bring about the people's redemption. However, Moses seems a bit reticent. He claims that Pharaoh and the people will not listen to him because he is of "uncircumcised lips." The implication being once again that he is unable to speak clearly and that his speech is not complete or whole. In short, he is not up to the task. This reaction is something to which many of us can relate. So many times in our lives, we may feel unequal to the task that lies before us. We fear that the task is too great. Yet, one might imagine that even if Moses felt unworthy he would have trusted God's judgment and God’s ability make the correct choice. Nevertheless, Moses does not respond that way. Moses tries to convince God that God has the wrong man. It is for this reason that some commentators be...

Between general vacation time with my children and the celebration of the secular new year I did not get a chance to send out a commentary this week. but, better late than never! Happy New Year! May it be a year filled with joy, gratitude and learning! Stop Moving! A Commentary on Parshat Vayekhi This week’s parashah , Vayekhi ( Bereshit /Genesis 47:28 – 49:33), brings to a close the book of Bereshit /Genesis. Jacob is finally able to settle down and rest in Egypt with his sons and their families. Until now he has not been able to stop moving either physically or emotional. This began when he traded Esau a bowl of lentils for his birthright and then manipulated his father (with the help of his mother) into giving him Esau’s blessing. And so he ran from his brother’s anger and vengeance and went to the land from which his parents came. There he worked for 14 years in order to finally marry Rachel and Leah (the latter due to at trick played on him by her father). Then, somewhat cover...