Deuteronomy 23:23 וְכִ֥י תֶחְדַּ֖ל לִנְדֹּ֑ר לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה בְךָ֖ חֵֽטְא׃ You incur no guilt if you refrain from vowing.  There is no part of the High Holy Day liturgy more iconic, or more unusual, than Kol Nidre. Not a prayer in itself, Kol Nidre – the very first words of Yom Kippur – is a declaration annulling the vows we made to…

Deuteronomy 18:10 לֹֽא־יִמָּצֵ֣א בְךָ֔ מַעֲבִ֥יר בְּנֽוֹ־וּבִתּ֖וֹ בָּאֵ֑שׁ קֹסֵ֣ם קְסָמִ֔ים מְעוֹנֵ֥ן וּמְנַחֵ֖שׁ וּמְכַשֵּֽׁף׃ Let no one be found among you who consigns a son or daughter to the fire, or who practices divination, an astrologer, one who reads omens, or a sorcerer. Being human is, in many ways, unfair. We are created with the blessing of foresight and the capacity to…

Deuteronomy: 13:6 וְהַנָּבִ֣יא הַה֡וּא א֣וֹ חֹלֵם֩ הַחֲל֨וֹם הַה֜וּא יוּמָ֗ת כִּ֣י דִבֶּר־סָ֠רָ֠ה עַל־יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֜ם הַמּוֹצִ֥יא אֶתְכֶ֣ם ׀ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם…ח As for that prophet or dream-diviner, such a one shall be punished for having urged disloyalty to the Lord your God who takes you out of Egypt… One of the great challenges Moses faced in the wilderness was the Israelites who longed to…

Deuteronomy: 11:22 כִּי֩ אִם־שָׁמֹ֨ר תִּשְׁמְר֜וּן אֶת־כל־הַמִּצְוָ֣ה הַזֹּ֗את אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם לַעֲשֹׂתָ֑הּ לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם לָלֶ֥כֶת בְּכל־דְּרָכָ֖יו וּלְדָבְקָה־בֽוֹ׃ If, then, you faithfully keep all this Instruction that I command you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all God’s ways, and holding fast to God When the Hasidic movement emerged in the 18th century, it met fierce resistance. The scholarly…

Deuteronomy: 5:41-42 אָ֣ז יַבְדִּ֤יל מֹשֶׁה֙ שָׁלֹ֣שׁ עָרִ֔ים בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן מִזְרְחָ֖ה שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃ לָנֻ֨ס שָׁ֜מָּה רוֹצֵ֗חַ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִרְצַ֤ח אֶת־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ בִּבְלִי־דַ֔עַת וְה֛וּא לֹא־שֹׂנֵ֥א ל֖וֹ מִתְּמֹ֣ל שִׁלְשֹׁ֑ם וְנָ֗ס אֶל־אַחַ֛ת מִן־הֶעָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖ל וָחָֽי׃ Then Moses set aside three cities on the east side of the Jordan to which one who has killed someone could escape, one who unwittingly slew another without having been an enemy…

Lamentations 1:1 אֵיכָ֣ה ׀ יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם הָיְתָ֖ה כְּאַלְמָנָ֑ה רַבָּ֣תִי בַגּוֹיִ֗ם שָׂרָ֙תִי֙ בַּמְּדִינ֔וֹת הָיְתָ֖ה לָמַֽס׃ How can it be that she sits in isolation the city teeming with people has become like a widow? Immense among nations, noble among provinces, she has become a payer of tribute. We mark Tisha B’Av, the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar,…

Numbers 22:28 וַיִּפְתַּ֥ח יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶת־פִּ֣י הָאָת֑וֹן וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לְבִלְעָם֙ מֶה־עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי לְךָ֔ כִּ֣י הִכִּיתַ֔נִי זֶ֖ה שָׁלֹ֥שׁ רְגָלִֽים׃ Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have hit me these three times?” Balaam is one of the more interesting individuals in the Torah. He is not Jewish, but is a prophet…

Special edition of the Weekly Versewhile Rabbi Rotenberg is at Camp Ramah Darom A wet slab of concrete in front of Ramah Darom’s new Programming Center The moment I saw the workers smooth the new slab of concrete, the countdown began. I know that campers are not always the best behaved. With hundreds of kids walking by this high traffic area,…

Special edition of the Weekly Versewhile Rabbi Rotenberg is at Camp Ramah Darom Few people know exactly what an Eruv is, and fewer know that Camp Ramah Darom has one. An Eruv is an enclosure made up of different finds of materials that take a public space, and encloses it so that according to Jewish law, one can carry within it…

Special edition of the Weekly Versewhile Rabbi Rotenberg is at Camp Ramah Darom Sitting in the dining hall this afternoon, you wouldn’t know our brothers and sisters in Israel are under fire. While subtly checking the news on my phone, thirsty for any update on Iran’s missile barrage, I’m surrounded by the sound of hundreds of excited kids finishing their pizza…