Stories We Tell: The Bird Catcher
Stories We Tell: Get Up and Go Early
Accepting Advice From Your Father-in-Law
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Yitro, is remarkable. Only six Torah portions (out of a total of 54) are named for one of the individuals advancing the drama within its text. ... And this portion is named for Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro (Yitro) — a non-Israelite, Midianite priest. In the portion, Yitro offers sage advice and Moses accepts it.
Stories We Tell: What it Takes to Get in
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Shof’tim
Parashat Shof’tim is all about judges: who should judge, how they should judge, and why a goo
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Teitzei: How Not to Hate
In Parashat Ki Teitzei, we read the phrase, “you shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you are a stranger in his land.” This statement is read only a few months after Leviticus, when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians,
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Tavo: Not If, But When
Ki Tavo translates to “when you get there.” the phrasing is “when,” and not “if,” because the Torah reminds us that there was never a doubt that the Israelites would reach The Land of Milk and Honey.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Nitzavim-Vayeilech: It's Not in the Heavens
For many, the double portion Nitzavim-Vayeilech is comforting. Judaism is a religion full of commandments, but Nitzavim-Vayeilech assures us that everything we need to be Jewish is in our very hearts.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - B'reishit: There's Something About Seven
As we begin a new cycle of study and learning with Parashat B’reishit, Rabbi Jacobs makes a case for the number seven. Why is the number seven so significant, and what does this significance mean in Judaism?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Noach: Act of God
In Parashat Noach, God sends a flood to Earth as punishment for corruption and lawlessness. As we’re living in the aftermath of several natural disasters today, some may wonder what “acts of God” really are.