The summer after graduating college, I went backpacking with a friend in North Cascades National Park in Washington. The sun shone brightly on Lake Chelan as we were ferried deep into the woods, landing at the little outpost of Stehekin to begin our weeklong trek. It was a euphoric beginning, but soon both the weather…
Arousing God’s Love: Emor 5775
Perhaps the most radical idea in Jewish theology is that God’s holy status is dependent upon human conduct, specifically on the behavior of Israel. Far from being an “unmoved mover,” the God of Israel is deeply invested in the conduct of God’s servants. The rabbis, especially the mystics among them, understand the covenant as an…
Making and Unmaking Distinctions: Aharei Mot-Kedoshim 5775
Many years ago a teacher challenged me to name a mitzvah that had no personal significance. It took but a second for the word shatnez to cross my lips—I just couldn’t think of any spiritual insight that could come from worrying about the fabric blend in my clothes. As a city dweller, I didn’t have…
Tzaraat and Sex Trafficking: Tazria Metzora
The double parashah of Tazria-Metzorah this Shabbat draws us into the strange realm of negaim, blemishes of the body, clothing and even homes that signal impurity and require urgent attention. This topic was considered to be one of the most complicated areas of Jewish law in antiquity, and it remains challenging for us today. We often associate this…
The Body and Soul of Kashrut: Shmini 5775
I recently booked that rare flight which offers menu options, and was curious to peruse the fourteen choices currently available: Kosher, Asian Vegetarian, Dairy Vegetarian, Low cal/chol/fat, Vegetarian Non-Dairy, Hindu, Halal, Low Sodium, Gluten Free, Diabetic, Toddler, Child, Baby, and… Bland. My experience of airplane food is that it is always bland, but I suppose they are capable…
Disarming the Angel of Death: Pesah 5775
There is a wild story at the end of the seventh chapter of B. Ketubot about Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi. He is praised for visiting patients afflicted with the dreaded “ra’atan” disease (apparently some sort of parasite in the skull) and studying Torah with them, even as his rabbinic colleagues fearfully kept their distance. I concede…
Withdraw Your Hands and Take Hold of Pesah: Shabbat HaGadol 5775
Shabbat HaGadol represents the internal emancipation that was the necessary precondition for the Exodus. Technically, the Israelites were still slaves on the tenth of the month, but when Moses called the elders of Israel and told them to pick out animals for the sacrifice, this was the moment when the people shifted their obedience from…
For the Sins of the Leader: VaYikra/HaHodesh 5775
If the first two books of Torah can be understood according to their Hebrew names—Bereshit, the book of origins, and Sh’mot, the book of names (or identities), then this week we begin Vayikra, the book of calling. We discover within it a divine calling—to approach the Tent of Meeting, just as Moses did, and to…
Redemption Begins Within: Parah 5775
Purim and Pesah are both festivals of redemption, serving as bookends in the final and first months of the Hebrew year. But Purim is by far the lesser holiday. True, the Jews of Persia escaped from Haman’s genocidal threat, but they then remained in a vulnerable position, and in the final chapters of the Megillah they…
A royal dress? Purim 5775
Purim is our festival of contradictions and hidden meanings. This year I suddenly noticed one detail that has been hiding in plain sight—the color of Esther’s royal dress. Was it blue, or gold? The Megillah itself is maddeningly ambiguous. We read in Chapter 5, “On the third day, Esther was garbed in royalty.” The ancient…
Confronting Contemporary Amalek: Zakhor 5775
I recently read Roz Chast’s memoir about the senescence and death of her parents entitled, “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” The title refers to her parents’ strident refusal, even in their mid-90s, to discuss their failing bodies and to prepare for the inevitable. The book is a brutally honest memoir by their daughter…
The Architecture of Holiness: Terumah 5775
There are few structures in America to match the splendor of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington. Built during the Great Depression at the urging of former President and then Chief Justice William Howard Taft for less than $10 million dollars, it is a Neo-classical temple of justice. Architect Cass Gilbert studied the…
Rabbi Danny Nevins 