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. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the other ten men rejected the assumption that the people […]

By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In last week’s Torah Parsha (BEHAALOTECHA), 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, Congregant Shortly after a year of being rescued from Egypt, this week’s Torah Parsha (BEHAALOTECHA) provides a glimpse into Moses’ psyche, as well as the state of mind of the Israelites. The Children of Israel have just learned that via God’s instructions to Moses, they will soon be leaving Mount Sinai, to […]

This week’s Torah Parsha (NASO) begins with a continuation of last week’s Parsha (BAMIDBAR); completing the census of the Children of Israel, and assigning the intricate details of the tasks to be performed by each individual tribe, in the transporting of the Tabernacle. With 176 verses, NASO is both the longest portion of the Torah, […]

By Joy Scott,  Am Haskalah Congregant Last week’s double Parshiot (BEHAR) and (BECHUKOTAI) comprised the final portions of the Book of Leviticus. We begin the Book of NUMBERS, with plans to dismantle the Tabernacle, and to re-build it further into the wilderness. In the second year of the EXODUS, God spoke to Moses: “Take a […]

This week, we continue with the book of Leviticus, with the reading of Parsha (ACHAREI MOT). The primary focus of this Parsha pertains to the ancient rituals of Yom Kippur, the ‘Day of Atonement’. During the period of MISHNAH (i.e. the first major redaction of the Oral Torah) in the second century, the Jewish calendar […]

The essence of this week’s Torah Parsha (METZORA) pertains to ritual impurities. There are references to spiritual impurities within a home (detected by the appearance of dark colored patches on its walls); and, impurities engendered by nature of intimate relations between a husband and his wife. However, the predominant theme of Parsha (METZORA) concerns the […]

For several weeks and many chapters- – the longest prelude in the Torah – – we have read of the preparations for the moment at which God would bring His Presence to rest in the midst of the people. Five Torah Parshiot (TERUMAH, TETZAVEH, KI TISA, VAYAKHEL, and PEKUDI) describe the instructions for building the […]

The primary theme of last week’s Torah Parsha (VAKIRA) pertained to the five diverse sacrifices, which the Israelites presented at the Sanctuary. On the surface, this week’s Torah Parsha (TZAV) appears to be merely an extension of Parsha (VAKIRA), differentiated solely by the focus shifting to the kohanim, who were the recipients of the various […]

This week’s Torah Parsha (VAKIRA) is the first Parsha in the Book of Leviticus, known formally as ‘Torat Kohanim’ (instructions for the Priests) (1). The title for this Parsha defines the entire Book of Leviticus. We have just completed reading the thrilling and dramatic story of the Book of EXODUS, which captivated our imagination like […]