Mindful Torah...and more

From the beginning of the month of Elul , the last month of the Jewish year, through all of the fall holiday season, it is customary to read Psalm 27 every day. Known as the Psalm for the Season of Repentance, it is a psalm filled with faith and hope. The following is a line-by-line poetic commentary on the poem. Each line of the psalm is written in bold italics, and the poetic interpretation of that line follows. As we enter this new year of 5772, I hope and pray for all of us and our world, that we shall see an end to suffering and the beginning of a new time of peace and tranquility for us all. But it all begins with forgiveness and acceptance. L’shanah tovah u’metukah – a Happy and Sweet New Year - to you, my online community. Thanks so much for reading my words and for allowing me to share them with you, SPN Psalm 27: Seeking Strength , Seeking God The Eternal is my light and my life. Whom shall I fear? I am filled with fear fear of self othe...

Dear online Hevre (community): I apologize for this arriving during Shabbat. I thought I had posted it yesterday and then realized that I did not. For those who are unable to read it until after Shabbat, I am sure you can still learn something from it. Comments are always welcome. Shabbat Shalom or Shavuah Tov (a good week), as the case may be. SPN ----------------------------------- This week's Torah portion is Nitzavim-Vayelekh ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 29:9 - 31:30). It is one of seven parashiot /portions that is read as a double portion in a non-leap year order to assure that the entire Torah is read in the course of a single year. The parashah /portion is near the end of Moses' speeches to the people before he is to die. At the start of Parshat Nitzavim Moses informs the people that he is addressing his remarks to all those who "stand this day, before the Eternal your God. To enter into the covenant God swore to your ancestors. I make this covenant, both with th...

This poem is a work in progress. I have been working on it all day as I have watched the programs memorializing the events of 9.11.01. I am sure I will make more changes as time goes on. But please feel free to send me any comments you might have. I always welcome responses of all kinds. Shalom/Salaam/Peace, Steve In the book of Deuteronomy we read of the ritual the people are commanded to enact upon entering the Promised Land. Moses tells people that they are to stand between two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal . As they stand in the valley, curses are to be pronounced from Mount Ebal and blessings from Mount Gerizim . This is followed by the commandment for the people to utterly and completely destroy all the sites at which the other nations worship their gods in the land of Canaan (to become the “Promised Land”) and a warning that they are not to worship God in a like manner, but to "look only to the site that YHWH your God will choose" (eventually, Jerusalem, the ...

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 everything from 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 concerns the to return lost property, no matter what it may be or how long ago we may have discovered it. In reading, the commentaries on Ki Tetzei I came across many concerning this specific mitzvah . One Hassidic tale relates the story of a man who came to the great rabbi Aaron of Chernobyl to tell him of a terrible recurring nightmare that he was having. The man had found a wallet containing a fortune. When he could not find the owner in the crowd he kept the m...

This week's parashah /portion,   Shofetim ( D'varim /Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9) begins with the command to appoint judges and legal officials to carry out justice within the newly-formed Israelite society and continues with a warning against worshipping other gods. The parashah then discusses the lawas concerning witnessing a homicide, the setting up of a judicial system and the appointment of a king once the people enter and conquer the land of Canaan. In addition, it also contains specific laws against worshipping false gods, child sacrifice, sorcery and divination, as well as following "false prophets." In writing this commentary I was also aware that this past Wednesday was Rosh Hodesh Elul – the first day of the Jewish month of Elul . This is the month that immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah, the start of the new Jewish year. Therefore, it was designated by the ancient rabbis as the time when we are to begin the process of teshuvah /return and repentance ...

In this week's parashah /portion, Ekev ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:26), Moses tells the people that they shall be rewarded if they obey God's commandments and punished if they disobey. He recounts how God freed them from slavery in Egypt, gave them victory over enemies in the desert, and brought them to the border of the land flowing with milk and honey. However, God did not do this because of any virtue that the people possessed. Rather, God blessed the people because they were God's "chosen" and "special people." This in spite of the fact that they were stiff-necked and often rejected or rebelled against God and Moses during the 40 years of wandering. In fact, Moses reminds them that he actually had to plead with God not to destroy the people after they built the Golden Calf (among other times)! The verses upon which I would like to focus are found near the end of the parashah . As they are not contiguous, I will cite them below in the ord...

There is an old Yiddish proverb which is among the most overly quoted of all the overly quoted     Yiddish proverbs: Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht. Man [sic] plans, God laughs. In a moment you will see why this dictum has been ringing in my ears more than usually in the past few days.  But first, I would like to provide a framework for my musings. This commentary is tangentially connected to this past week’s Torah reading, Va’etchanan ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 3:27-7:11).  But it is also connected to the fast day of Tisha B’Av , which occurred last week, and the fact that this past Shabbat was Shabbat Nahamu /the Sabbath of Comfort.  Tisha B’Av commemorates the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE.  Both of these events, as well as other tragedies, are believed to have occurred on or around Tisha B’Av (the 9th day of the month of Av).  And so it has traditionally been a day...