The world of Leviticus can be disorienting, especially in the chapters which focus on the details of the korbanot, the sacrifices with all of their bloody and smoky mess. Upon closer examination, each of these ancient forms of worship is recognizably connected to a modern mode of worship. We too approach God at times with…
A Successful Failure: Vayakhel-Pekudei 5777
Moses, as a leader, is a successful failure. His highlights reel is pretty impressive—liberator, warrior, logistics coordinator, judge and prophet. And yet many things that Moses seeks to accomplish are utter failures. He fails to reshape the liberated slaves into a dignified and free people; he fails to deliver them to the promised land; he…
Show Me Your Glory: Ki Tisa 5777
What is Moses asking when he demands that God show him the glory? The Torah already had reported in Ex. 33: 11 that in the Tent of Meeting, the Lord spoke to Moses “face to face, like a man to his friend.” That sounds pretty direct—shockingly so—and yet somehow, Moses isn’t satisfied. A few verses…
Make Shushan Great Again? (Parody) Purim 5777
Shittah Mishubeshet is a collection of medieval debates about the laws of Purim which exists only in manuscript form, and that in a single copy held by the venerable rare book collection of JTS. Unfortunately, the collection has been removed to a black site for the foreseeable future, leaving us unable to clarify its important…
On the Road with Amalek: Zakhor 5777
This Shabbat is both Titzaveh and Shabbat Zakhor—in addition to all the normal reasons to go to shul and hear the Torah, there is a special commandment to listen to the Zakhor passage and think about the continued danger of genocidal hatred in the world. The Torah states in Deuteronomy 25:17-19 that Amalek did something…
A Gift from Titus: Terumah 5777
The Arch of Titus in Rome is simultaneously one of the saddest and most exciting places for a Jew to stand. It is but a short distance from the Colosseum, the stadium made famous by its cruel sports, built with money plundered from the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. Titus’s Arch celebrates the destruction of…
Head Home Little Bird! Mishpatim 5777
A little gosling is all alone in a field, hopping mad. Perhaps it is cheeping at every stranger who passes, “Are you my mother?” But according to the Talmud, each stranger is asking, “Are you my gosling?” In Bavli Bava Batra 23b, the Mishnah states that if a gosling is found within fifty cubits of…
Getting Married to God: Yitro 5777
The liturgy of Shabbat is suffused with wedding imagery. This theme is most pronounced in the prayer Lekha Dodi, which depicts the marriage of God and Israel, and also the union of two aspects of God, the sefirot of Tifereth and Malkhut (which is associated with Israel). However, we may detect the marital motif also…
Memory Cards for the Mind; Power Packs for the Arm–For Women and for Men: Bo 5777:
Chapter 12 of Exodus introduces Israel to the rituals (setting their sacred calendar and the Pesah rite) that will attend their exodus from Egypt. Chapter 13 shifts perspective to the future reenactment of this formative event, declaring that firstborn sons and also animals owned by Israelites will forever be associated with the sparing of Israel…
Judah, don’t tether your donkey to a grapevine. Shabbat VaYehi 5777
In the August Wilson play, “Fences,” recently brought to screen with stand-out performances by Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, the male protagonist Troy torments his son Cory to the point of driving him from home at 17. We learn that Troy had been driven off by his own father at 14, and so the cycle…
A house divided no more? Vayigash 5777
Is it only two brothers who face off in the dramatic opening of our portion, or do they carry upon their shoulders the weight of future history—the division of their two respective kingdoms, Judah and Israel, which will vie for primacy and even engage in civil war? Why add the historical overlay? Is not the…
The Hungry Games: Toldot 5777:
A satiated person cannot understand the hungry person. This basic truth is expressed in the proverbs of many cultures (this gender-neutral version is of Irish extraction), and is the key to understanding Parashat Toldot. Hunger is the dominant emotion, and it does bad things to the judgment of the key characters. Famished Esau sells his…
Rabbi Danny Nevins 