Parshat Bereshit: What’s Your Verse?Genesis 5:1 זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃ “This is the story of the generations of Adam. On the day God created Adam, God made him in the image of God.” If you had to choose one verse to describe the whole Torah, which would you choose? There is a debate…

Shabbat Sukkot: Put the Load Right On MeExodus 33:14 וַיֹּאמַ֑ר פָּנַ֥י יֵלֵ֖כוּ וַהֲנִחֹ֥תִי לָֽךְ׃ “And God said, I will go in the lead and will lighten your burden.” Being a human being is hard. Sure, there are good days. Still, we are guaranteed to experience pain, grief, and disappointment. We cannot prevent these from occurring, but we have a remedy…

Parshat Ha’azinu: Rain PlanDeuteronomy 32:2 יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃ “May my teaching come down as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass.” This year, our High Holy Days services took place in a tent, which meant we were at the mercy of the…

Parshat Vayeilech: United We StandDeuteronomy 31:11 בְּב֣וֹא כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֵֽרָאוֹת֙ אֶת־פְּנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִבְחָ֑ר תִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּ֛את נֶ֥גֶד כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּאׇזְנֵיהֶֽם׃ “When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that God will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel.” By coincidence, I recently came across a shirt given to…

Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Hidden ThingsDeuteronomy 29:28 הַנִּ֨סְתָּרֹ֔ת לַיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵ֙ׄיׄנׄוּ֙ׄ עַׄד־עוֹלָ֔ם לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ “The hidden acts belong to Hashem our God; but the overt acts are for us and our children to forever apply all the words of this Teaching.” A friend once asked me the following question: what’s more important – how you act when you…

Parshat Ki Tavo: Heads and TailsDeuteronomy 28:44 ה֣וּא יַלְוְךָ֔ וְאַתָּ֖ה לֹ֣א תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ ה֚וּא יִהְיֶ֣ה לְרֹ֔אשׁ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה לְזָנָֽב׃ “He [your foe] shall be your creditor, but you shall not be his; he shall be the head and you the tail.” The Torah appears to say that it is always better to lead than to follow. The assumption is that being…

Parshat Ki Teitzei: GroundedDeuteronomy 23:14 וְיָתֵ֛ד תִּהְיֶ֥ה לְךָ֖ עַל־אֲזֵנֶ֑ךָ וְהָיָה֙ בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֣ ח֔וּץ וְחָפַרְתָּ֣ה בָ֔הּ וְשַׁבְתָּ֖ וְכִסִּ֥יתָ אֶת־צֵאָתֶֽךָ׃ “You shall have a spike in addition to your gear, and it will be that when you sit outside, you shall dig with it; you shall cover up your excrement” First, let’s applaud the Rabbi’s courage for choosing the verse that refers to…

Parshat Shoftim: The Warrior’s ArmorDeuteronomy 20:1 כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֨א לַמִּלְחָמָ֜ה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֗ךָ וְֽרָאִ֜יתָ ס֤וּס וָרֶ֙כֶב֙ עַ֚ם רַ֣ב מִמְּךָ֔ לֹ֥א תִירָ֖א מֵהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ הַמַּֽעַלְךָ֖ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ “When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots – forces larger than yours – have no fear of them, for the Lord your God is with you, the one who brought…