Numbers 29:35 בַּיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י עֲצֶ֖רֶת תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם כׇּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֽׂוּ׃ On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations. The lesser known holiday of Shemini Atzeret begins tonight at Sundown. This is celebrated on the Eighth day after Sukkot begins. However, this poses a problem: In the diaspora, the festivals are…
Kohelet 12:12 וְיֹתֵ֥ר מֵהֵ֖מָּה בְּנִ֣י הִזָּהֵ֑ר עֲשׂ֨וֹת סְפָרִ֤ים הַרְבֵּה֙ אֵ֣ין קֵ֔ץ וְלַ֥הַג הַרְבֵּ֖ה יְגִעַ֥ת בָּשָֽׂר׃ A further word: Against them, my child, be warned! The making of many books is without limit. And much study is a wearying of the flesh. Many are the reasons that we read the book of Kohelet on Sukkot. Ironically, this verse comes at the…
Leviticus 16:30 כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה תִּטְהָֽרוּ׃ For on this day, atonement shall be made for you to purify you of all your sins; you shall be pure before the Lord For those familiar with the Hebrew language, the phrase “Yom Kippurim” has two meanings. The first is “day of atonement.” The second is…
תקיעה שברים תקיעה Tekiyah Shevarim Tekiyah When the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah each blast takes this form: Tekiyah, one whole blast, followed by a blast broken into three or nine parts, followed by tekiyah, another whole blast. Whole, broken, whole. The shofar is meant to open our hearts to change, to open our hearts to each other, and this pattern…
Deuteronomy 30:14 כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִֽלְבָבְךָ֖ לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ׃ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it. Where is Torah? Seems like a strange question to ask, because we know where it comes from. We read about Mount Sinai and the Torah’s being given from God. We read about Moses’…
Deuteronomy 29:3 וְלֹא־נָתַן֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם לֵב֙ לָדַ֔עַת וְעֵינַ֥יִם לִרְא֖וֹת וְאזְנַ֣יִם לִשְׁמֹ֑עַ עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. I’m not a particularly visual person. To the frustration of my wife there are many times when I am looking for something and I…
Deuteronomy 22:6 כִּ֣י יִקָּרֵ֣א קַן־צִפּ֣וֹר ׀ לְפָנֶ֡יךָ בַּדֶּ֜רֶךְ בְּכׇל־עֵ֣ץ ׀ א֣וֹ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶפְרֹחִים֙ א֣וֹ בֵיצִ֔ים וְהָאֵ֤ם רֹבֶ֙צֶת֙ עַל־הָֽאֶפְרֹחִ֔ים א֖וֹ עַל־הַבֵּיצִ֑ים לֹא־תִקַּ֥ח הָאֵ֖ם עַל־הַבָּנִֽים׃ If along the road you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her…
Deuteronomy 17:8 רִיבֹ֖ת בִּשְׁעָרֶ֑יךָ וְקַמְתָּ֣ וְעָלִ֔יתָ אֶ֨ל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִבְחַ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בּֽוֹ׃ If a case is too baffling for you to decide, be it a controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault, matters of dispute in your courts, you shall promptly go to the place that the Lord your God will have chosen. A story is told of a father and…
Deuteronomy 12:13 הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּֽן־תַּעֲלֶ֖ה עֹלֹתֶ֑יךָ בְּכל־מָק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְאֶֽה׃ Take care not to sacrifice your burnt offerings in any place you like Two friends of mine have a long-standing debate. One is a proponent of a Hasidic practice called “hitbodedut.” This is where one, at any time and any place, opens up a conversation with God. Perhaps one is driving…
Deuteronomy 6:4 שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃ Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, The Lord is one. There are times when the Torah and science seem to be at odds, and times when they speak the same truth. For instance, we have to reconcile the six days of creation with thirteen billion years of existence, and the creation…