Encountering God in the Sacred Silence
In Sh’mot Rabbah, we read: “Rabbi Abahu said, “When the Holy One gave the Torah, no bird cried out... ” Our lives today are so full of artificial sound, it makes it difficult for us to tune into silence. In Vayikra, God calls to Moses out of that silence.
Never Too Proud to Wield the Sacred Shovel
One of the delights of the Book of Leviticus is the constant barrage of sacrificial details.... the organizationally minded amongst us may wonder: at the end of a day of sacrifice, who was in charge of cleaning up? This week’s Torah portion, Tzav, gives us an answer: The charred remains of roasted animals and their entrails were left not to a sacrificial janitorial team, not to the Israelites or Levites, but to the priests themselves – even to Aaron the High Priest.
A Higher Holiness Through Connection with a Collective
The poet, Elizabeth Alexander writes:"Poetry (here I hear myself loudest) is the human voice, and are we not of interest to each other?" ... The priestly purpose is to remain separate from the people while linking them to God.... We are left with a difficult duality, both in the nature of this flesh-focused practice and the priestly power paradigm: in word and in world, what is the primary purpose?
Power to the People: Relying on a Collective Authority
Priest as physician. Spiritual blight as medical malady. Simmering beneath the descriptions of scaly skin and malignant discolorations in Parashat Tazria is a mode of power that challenges the modern mindset. A dominant few of paternal priestly lineage hold the knowledge and authority to diagnose, isolate, and adjudicate regarding leprous eruptions. The fate of those afflicted rests solely in the proclamations of the priests, who deem whether people are labeled “clean” or “unclean.”
How Moses Found His Voice – and How We Can, Too
Our fifth and final book begins by stating, “These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan” (Deut. 1:1). The Hebrew name for Deuteronomy, D’varim, literally means “words,” and this framing sets the entire book apart from the rest of the Torah.
What Torah Requires of Us
If we had to choose only one Torah portion to summarize the entire Torah, which would it be? We'd have to consider >Parashat Va-et’chanan a strong contender; in it, we find a compilation of Torah’s “greatest hits,” both in law and narrative.
“Revelation is Progressive”: Our Responsibility to Live in Pursuit of Holiness
In this week’s portion, Parashat Eikev, Moses’s great sermon continues with powerful rhetorical impact by reinforcing the theology on Divine reward and punishment.
Finding Inspiration in the Jewish Women Who Came Before Us
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
Out of the Shadows and Beyond the Fear: Zelophehad’s Daughters’ Daughters
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
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