Author: AHWebMaint

By Joy Scott, Congregant A ‘prophet for hire’, a talking donkey, and flying angels: This is not a child’s fairy tale; but, rather the essence of this week’s Torah Parsha (BALAK). The Parsha begins with the Israelites continuing their journey to Canaan. They have already defeated their enemies in the land of the Amorites, and […]

By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In an almost imperceptible yet seismic shift, this week’s Torah Parsha (CHUKAT) jumps several decades ahead in the wilderness journey of the Israelites; and its narrative reads like a riddle inside a riddle. The Torah Parsha begins: “This is the statute of the Torah which the Lord commanded…(1), and […]

By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In last week’s Torah Parsha (SHELACH), twelve ‘spies’, after scouting the land of Canaan for forty days, returned with a blatantly, exaggerated falsehood, pertaining to the strength and size of the inhabitants, who were to be conquered. Only, Joshua and Caleb, of the twelve rejected their claim that the […]

By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In last week’s Torah Parsha (BEHALOTECHA), we read about the Israelite’s turbulent saga of disillusionment, with their way of life in the desert. This week’s  Parsha (SHELACH) takes a new and momentarily promising turn, with a look towards the future. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Send out men, […]

By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant   Slightly after a year of being rescued from Egypt, this week’s Parsha provides a glimpse into Moses’ psyche, as well as the state of mind of the Israelites. As the plan continues at Mount Sinai with some last minute perfunctory details, God instructs Moses  regarding the procedures for […]