When will it finally rain? The weather for the past month in the UK has been gorgeous–sunny and dry, but this is too much of a good thing. Hosepipe bans have been imposed to conserve water, lawns and gardens are turning tan, and flowers are fading. According to the Fire Severity Index, much of England…
Author: Rabbi Danny Nevins
Stuttering Sacred Speech: Devarim 5786
Learning to speak is one of the most mysterious, impactful and, for some, challenging of human capacities. To witness a toddler produce their first recognisable words often seems like a miracle. Language is a defining quality of the human experience, but it is not universally shared. Communication disorders come in many varieties and can have…
Shelach Lekha 5786: The Power of Predictive Processing
We frequently find that two people can observe the same set of facts and yet arrive at opposite conclusions. Our interpretive instincts are shaped by both personal experience and neurobiology. Facts that confirm our existing beliefs and well-established neural pathways are readily noticed, while those that contradict our assumptions are often dismissed as irrelevant. This…
Follow the Cloud: Beha’alotekha 5786
(Farewell Drashah to Minyan Ma’at, June 6, 2026) חמישה מי יודע? Who knows five? חמישה חומשי תורה, “Five are the books of Torah.” We all know this, and so do our kids. But could there be seven, like the branches of the Menorah described at the start of our portion? Or as few as three?…
The People’s Party: Purim for All. Shabbat Ki Tissa/Zakhor 5786
It delights me when reading halakhic texts that are frankly dry to discover a glimpse of the dramas of daily life in centuries past. One such glimpse is on view in the discussion of the special Shabbat before Purim, known as “Zakhor” for its Maftir instructing us to remember the despicable attack of Amalek on…
Three Readings of the Third Commandment: Yitro 5786
The third commandment seems simple enough: לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת־שֵׁם־ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ לַשָּׁוְא, כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה ה׳ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יִשָּׂא אֶת־שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא׃ Translated literally it means, “Do not take up the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not clear one who takes God’s name in vain.” Sounds simple, but if we look…
Oh, Brother! Jewish Quest Podcast on VaYehi
This conversation with Simon Eder of the Jewish Quest explores the mysterious character of Joseph, a man who keeps his own counsel, and the Torah’s message of fraternal reconciliation in the closing lines of its first fractious book. https://jewishquest.buzzsprout.com/1859010/episodes/18431544-25-31-vayehi-with-rabbi-danny-nevins https://www.buzzsprout.com/1859010/episodes/18431544
Shabbat Hanukkah–Mikketz 5786
מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּת הַבַּיִת לְדָוִֽד׃ “A Song for the Dedication of the House, for David.” This verse serves as the superscription to Psalm 30, a psalm which features prominently in our liturgy, appearing every day of the year in Shaharit, though that inclusion traces back only to the 17th century. Much older is the association of…
Resurrecting Resurrection: Vayeilekh/Shuvah 5786
The Torah itself is the mechanism of reviving the dead. When we teach their Torah, then we experience their presence. Moses is in the room with us today, and so too are all of our teachers who have left us in body, but conveyed their messages to guide us in life.
Chukat 5785: The Torah of Mortals and Machines
Might an obscure ancient ritual that has not been practiced in millennia have relevance for contemporary technology such as artificial intelligence? Let’s consider a curious turn of phrase in Parashat Chukat, “this is the Torah (of) a person who dies” (זאת התורה אדם כי ימות). Numbers 19 describes an unusual ritual to purify a living…
Ki Teitzei 5784: The Extended Effects of Captivity
Danny Nevins, Ansche Chesed, Minyan Maat Shabbat Ki Teitzei 5784 /September 14, 2024 During the 330 days that her son Hersh was held captive, Rachel Goldberg-Polin made dozens of speeches that moved people across the world. From the UN to the Vatican to the DNC, she spoke as a mother in agony, an activist demanding…
Behar 5784: The Blessings of Imperfection (GOA Graduation Address)
In Philadelphia hangs a famous bell with a great crack running down its side. The Liberty Bell is inscribed with the King James translation of a verse from this week’s Torah portion, Behar: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.” This bell was commissioned in 1752 to celebrate fifty years since…