Parshat Vayikra 5783 2023

PARSHAT VAYIKRA DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE “If one’s means do not suffice for two turtledoves or two pigeons, that person shall bring as an offering for that of which one is guilty a tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin offering; one shall not add oil to it or lay...

Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudai 5783 2023

PARSHAT VAYAKHEL- PEKUDAI SECOND CHANCES “Thus was completed all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, the Israelites did so, just as the Lord had commanded the Israelites did.”  (Exodus 39:32)...

Parshat Kee Teesa 5783 2023

PARSHAT KEE TEESA THE GOLD COW AND THE RED COW “Then he [Aaron] took from them and cast in a mold and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, this is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”  (Exodus 32:4)...

Parshat Tetzaveh 5783 2023

PARSHAT TETZAVEH WHAT WE WEAR “Make sacral vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment.”  (Exodus 28:2)             For more than two years during Covid, twice a day, I conducted a daily...

Parshat Terumah 5783 2023

PARSHAT TERUMAH COVERING UP “Place the cover on top of the Ark, after depositing inside the Ark the tablets that I will give you.”  (Exodus 25:21)              Let me begin with a cute story.  The...

Parshat Mishpatim 5783 2023

PARSHAT MISHPATIM GUNS “If the thief is seized while tunneling and beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt in that case.”  (Exodus 22:1)             I am writing this on Valentine’s Day.  I will admit...

Parshat Yitro 5783 2023

PARSHAT YITROTHE SILENT ALEPH “I am the Lord your God Who took you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage.” (Exodus 20:2)             Growing up, one of my favorite songs was the classic Simon and...

Parshat Beshalach 5783 2023

PARSHAT BESHALACH ACTION “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.”  (Exodus 14:15)             When I was in college, I spent part of a summer at a program...

Parshat Bo 5783 2023

PARSHAT BO ACCORDING TO THE CHILD “You will speak to your son on that day saying, for the sake of this did the Lord do this for me in my going out from Egypt.”  (Exodus 13:8)             In this week we read...

Parshat Vaera 5783 2023

PARSHAT VAERA ELIJAH’S CUP “I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements.  And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your...