Sharing Sinai with all that lives: Yitro 5779
What is the significance of Sinai for animals? This might sound like a strange question—the theophany was for people, right? If anything, we might say that animals were instruments in the form of sacrifices—those brought by Yitro at the start of the portion, and those described by God in the Decalogue postscript about earthen and…
Singing at Sinai: Yitro 5778
Seeking inspiration to spin faster on a stationary bike, I recently searched Spotify for an old song and came up with “Swingtown” by the Steve Miller Band. I don’t think I had heard it in decades, but I was instantly taken back to my 15 year old self, at least in my mind. Tedious exercise…
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…
Rabbi Danny Nevins 