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משפטים
This week’s parsha follows up on the giving of the Ten Commandments with a host of general ethical rules, almost exclusively dealing with interpersonal relations. One of the most famous of these...
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תרומה
This week’s parsha details (for the first time) the measurements and materials used in building the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the major ritual items inside it, to be used while traveling in the desert...
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תצוה
This week’s parsha details the different ritual clothes that were to be made for the priesthood, following on last week’s discussion of the objects to be used in the mishkan (tabernacle) by the...
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כי תשא
In this week’s parsha we return to narrative after hearing of the detailed law codes and instructions for building the Mishkan (Tabernacle). We read of the Golden Calf and the anger of both Hashem...
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ויקהל–פקודי החודש
This week’s double parsha is a true Bar Mitzvah anniversary for me. Not only are we reading the double parsha to end the book of Shmot (Exodus), and the special maftir (extra reading, Exodus 12:1-20)...
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ויקרא
In this week’s parsha, we begin the middle book of the חומש (Pentateuch), Vayikra/Leviticus, dealing almost exclusively with the priestly rituals. This book is notoriously hard to draw meaning from...
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צו-הגדול
This week’s parsha continues to describe, in meticulous detail, the various types of sacrifices that are offered for different sins to the priest, and who gets to eat which parts and when. Like the...
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שמיני
This week’s parsha details – in narrative form, unlike previous weeks – what happens on the eighth day after the sanctification of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The most notable event is the Divine death...
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תזריע–מצורע
See my piece on this week’s parsha, published in The Huffington Post in conjunction with Odyssey Network’s On Torah series. Praising the priest As a reminder for us Of healing power
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אחרי מות–קדושים
This week’s double parsha returns us to Aharon’s public role as High Priest after two of his sons’ tragic death, and goes on to enumerate many universal edicts, often couched in language of ‘do x,...
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אמור
This week’s parsha begins by detailing the special place of the priests in ancient Israelite society. “They shall not make a bald spot on their heads, and they shall not shave their beards, and shall...
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בהר–בחקותי
This week’s double parsha ends the book of Vayikra / Leviticus, speaking of many themes, including shmittah. The first parsha, Behar, ends with foundational mtizvot (commandments) to be kept, starting...
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במדבר
This week’s parsha begins the book of Bamidbar / Numbers, with just that – a lot of numbers. Moshe is asked to take a census of the Israelites, along with the head of each tribe. With the verses in...
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נשא
This week’s parsha, between detailing genealogies and lists of sacrifices given at the inauguration of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), spells out the priestly blessing which is still recited regularly today....
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בהעלותך
This post also appears on Diyun This week’s parsha, Beha’alotcha, ends with a famous scene of sibling conflict (Bamidbar/Numbers 12:1-15). After what must have been a harrowing number of years since...
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שלח
If you thought that last week’s parsha was tough for the leaders of the Israelites, it’s gotten worse in this week’s parsha. Twelve scouts are sent to Cana’an, ten of whom return with a negative...
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קרח
This week’s parsha focuses on the famous rebellion of Korach and his company, challenging the authority of Moshe and Aharon. Hashem punishes the rebels dramatically, by having the earth swallow them...
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חקת
This is one of the more ambivalent parshiyot (portions) in the Torah. The Israelites cannot find equal emotional footing on which to stand. This is exacerbated by the deaths of both of Moshe’s...
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בלק
This week’s parsha takes a break (for the most part) from the mishaps befalling the Israelites to tell us what the Israelites’ advance through the wilderness looked like from the perspective of the...
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פנחס
This week’s parsha, beyond speaking of Pinchas’ legacy, and the matter of the daughters of Zelophechad, lists a census and the annual list of holidays that still highlight the Jewish calendar. Since...
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