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Shabbat Weekly Dvar Torah

Blessings Will Come

Sep 1, 2023

Blessings Will Come

The Klausenberger Rebbe was well known for re-settling those of his Chasidim who had survived the Holocaust in and around the Beth Moses Hospital in Brooklyn. So, one morning in 1952 on the Shabbat of Ki Tavo, this week’s Torah portion, I set out from my home to be in the presence of a truly holy man.
When Forgetting Is a Mitzvah

Aug 25, 2023

When Forgetting Is a Mitzvah

This week we concentrate on one of the many mitzvot in the parsha (Ki Teitzei), one that is easily overlooked but that contains a monumental life lesson. Torah is mostly concerned with remembering: Remembering our Exodus from Egypt, remembering the merit of our forefathers… Memory is an integral feature of our faith because it grounds us by constantly reminding us from whence we came and where we are headed. There is, however, one mitzvah that is the antithesis of remembering…
Unfinished Business

Aug 18, 2023

Unfinished Business

There are several very powerful suggestions in Parshat Shoftim as to precisely what it is we should be looking for during the month of Elul as we turn toward the gates of the soul in preparation for Teshuvah / Returning. These suggestions come, oddly enough, in the laws of war...
Forgiveness of Debts

Aug 11, 2023

Forgiveness of Debts

The new month of Elul [this coming Wednesday night] famously opens us to a time of renewed intimacy. As we gear up for the Yamim Noraim, the holiest days of the year [known as the High Holy Days], we enter into the holy of holies of the Jewish heart.
Intentional Vulnerability

Aug 4, 2023

Intentional Vulnerability

“Circumcise the foreskin of your heart and stiffen your necks no more,” implores Moses (Deut. 10:16), attempting to convince the Israelites to open themselves up — and cleave to the God who so passionately, and often inexplicably, loves them… In its exhortation to lay naked one’s heart and make supple one’s throat, it asks us to lower our defenses, to surrender, to make the leap of faith that is absolutely necessary to live a fully realized and awakened existence.
You Can Go the Distance – But Don't

Jul 28, 2023

You Can Go the Distance – But Don't

“Within the limits of the law” is the principle referred to by the rabbis of the Talmud as Lifnim meshurat hadin and it is deployed by the Talmud to describe cases when the Sages, the masters of Jewish law, stop short of deploying the full measure of their power and don’t prescribe the entirety of what the law would entitle in the situation.
The Shelter of Shabbat

Jul 21, 2023

The Shelter of Shabbat

The morning I wrote this... In the eastern sky there was the tiniest sliver of the crescent moon, just rising, heart-breakingly beautiful. It was just a few days before the month of Av began, with that same crescent moon setting in the west. We are heading towards the end of the Three Weeks, the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, the season of loss and horror in our mythic history.
Killing Midianites?!

Jul 14, 2023

Killing Midianites?!

This week Parsha Mattot-Maasei contains some very difficult passages about the Israelites being commanded to kill the Midianites. When the Israelites go to battle, they kill all the Midianite males as well as their 5 kings and they also kill Balaam, the prophet who was supposed to curse the Israelites but instead ended up blessing them.
The Hallmark of a Just and Righteous Society

Jul 7, 2023

The Hallmark of a Just and Righteous Society

In this week's Torah portion, Pinchas, we read a wonderful account of how Judaism shifted the world’s paradigm on how to treat people, especially women.
Critique Carefully

Jun 30, 2023

Critique Carefully

The second portion of this week’s double parshah of Chukat/Balak is centered around the character of Bilaam, the seer - and prophet-for-hire -- those who he cursed would indeed be cursed; those who he blessed would indeed be blessed. The Moabite king Balak hires Bilaam to join him and curse the Israelites, whose power and number intimidated him.