Last week’s Parsha was pretty uplifting at first. We see the emergence of Light from Darkness and the magnificent unfolding of Creation. We learn about the harmoniousness of the Garden of Eden being the radical and disturbing evolution of human awareness. We hear the warnings associated with the Tree of […]

Welcome to Fall! I hope the Yom Tovim have been renewing for you. Many of us felt energized just being able to reconnect with community, either in person or on zoom. We shared Simchat Torah this year with Shirat HaNefesh, another independent community that is also wrestling with its future. Some members […]

Some of us have been watching Ken Burn’s documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust. I’ve seen many documentaries and films about the Holocaust over the years, but none as vivid, disturbing and thoughtful as this one. Along with daily news about the atrocities committed by Russia to the people of […]

Given the assault on our justice system, the FBI and federal judges, not to mention other democratic institutions, this week’s Parsha, Shoftim, couldn’t be more right on. “18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Eternal your God is giving you, and they shall […]

Ekev is a great Parsha! It becomes even clearer that G!d is in need of our right actions in order to be Godself. This understanding is explored beautifully in the teachings of Abraham Joshua Heschel is his work God in Search of Man. “This is one of the goals of […]

This week we also commemorate Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish history, recalling the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temples and other tragic events. It begins Saturday night August 6. It is also the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. For the Jewish people we have tried, throughout […]

Well, we just got back from the Promised Land! Actually, not the biblical Promised Land. We spent several days in and around Canaan Valley, West Virginia. It was the perfect place to go if you’re into the Parshiot this week. Matot-Masey, a double Parsha, brings us to the mountains overlooking […]

The Torah journey this week is also quite challenging. This week’s Parsha, Balak, is named for the Moabite king that wants to destroy the Israelites. He solicits the help of a desert monotheistic prophet named Bilaam and bribes him to curse the Israelites. It is a fascinating story and certainly […]

Loss is a major theme in this week’s Parsha, Chukat. Almost immediately after last week’s parsha and the challenges to Moses’ leadership, he is now faced with the deaths of Miriam and, then, at the close of the pasha, of Aaron. Not only were they his siblings but, they were […]

This past Shabbat, a young man, Isaac Wallsten, celebrated his becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Held at Sanctuary, he read beautifully from the opening verses of the Parsha, Shlach L’cha. Part of his Dvar Torah is below. God speaks to Moses, telling him to send twelve scouts, one from each tribe, […]