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Shabbat Weekly Dvar Torah

Are Jews White People?

Feb 4, 2022

Are Jews White People?

... perhaps it is not such a coincidence that this week’s parsha about building the Tabernacle, a thing of space, is the backdrop for the controversy swirling around Whoopi Goldberg’s statement that to her eyes, as an African-American woman, the Holocaust wasn’t about racism, since it was one group of white people (Nazis) murdering another group of white people (Jews).
To Renew and Reimagine the Covenant

Jan 28, 2022

To Renew and Reimagine the Covenant

When we decided that my eldest son had reached that fateful age - the age when it seemed appropriate that he have a cell phone - we waded in with hesitation and deep reservation. It was uncharted territory for us as parents, and we were filled with anxiety. Were we making the right decision?
Confusing Metaphor with Reality

Jan 21, 2022

Confusing Metaphor with Reality

The difficulty with providing any kind of imagery for G!D is that people end up confusing metaphor with the reality. This week’s Parshat Yitro contains the 10 Statements (not commandments, as it’s been erroneously rendered in English) within which we find “Thou shalt not make graven images….” Why is it such a horror— one of the top 10! —to make a graven image of the Divine?
Are You a Functional Atheist?

Jan 14, 2022

Are You a Functional Atheist?

If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of time up in your head thinking about getting your work done--planning, striving, checking items off the mental to-do list, worrying about how to keep all the balls in the air and how to meet this or that deadline or get ahead.
Hardening Our Hearts

Jan 7, 2022

Hardening Our Hearts

Immersed in the drama of liberating his enslaved people, Moses prepares to appear before Pharaoh, to insist that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt. God instructs his servant, Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them..." [Shemot/ Exodus 10:1]
The Exodus Empowers Us All

Dec 31, 2021

The Exodus Empowers Us All

As we enter the Book of Exodus with last week's Parashat Shemot and this week's Parashat Va'eira, I want to bring you a great insight… There are many life-metaphors to be found in the wonderful world of boats. Boats and people both embark on journeys, and both can reach their destinations or sink.
Why the Jews?

Dec 24, 2021

Why the Jews?

In Parashat Shemot, we find a clear instance of what we now call “antisemitism,” a term coined in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr, an anti-Jewish agitator in Germany, as a more modern, euphemistic and non-religious substitute for the German term, judenhass, Jew-hatred.
"And He Lived"

Dec 17, 2021

"And He Lived"

Vayehi literally means “and he lived” and yet, we learn about Jacob and Joseph’s death in this parsha. Vayehi begins in a way that is unique among the weekly parshiyot-- between every two other parshiyot in the Torah, we find a line break or space in the Torah scroll. But Vayehi is the exception. It begins without any clear demarcation from the end of Parashat Vayiggash, the parasha that comes before it. Perhaps one reason might be to cover up the loss of Jacob?
Shame vs. Guilt

Dec 10, 2021

Shame vs. Guilt

Joseph forgives. That, as I have argued before, was a turning point in history. For this was the first recorded act of forgiveness in literature… When he first reveals himself to them, he says, "And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you" (Gen. 45:5).
Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles!

Dec 3, 2021

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles!

Hanukkah, which occurs during the darkest time of the year, reminds us to be agents of light, kindness, goodness and blessing. We have the ability to see, create and acknowledge the miracles that surround us and share that spark of divinity with the world around us.