It is not the going up
that interests me,
not the view from Heaven
nor the view from Tuesday—
today is struggle enough.
And I am downright fearful
of going down,
with its trickster promise of return
and illusion of solid ground.
Down is done backwards, after all,
Lech Lecha, Genesis 12-17:27
The opening scripture of this week’s Torah portion Lech Lecha, “Go forth from your native land, from your kindred, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1) has a number of different translations and meanings. In the literal translation of the text, God calls Abram (this takes place before his name is changed to […]
This week we begin to read the first and only book of the Chumash that it is written in first person. Moses had so surrendered his ego to the Divine that his words were also God’s words, explain the commentators of this week’s parsha Devarim.
“Moses’ utter identification with the divine wisdom empowers our own lesser souls, each of which possesses ‘a spark of the […]
by Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer
This week’s Torah portion, Hukkat, is always very traumatic for me. First, we have the death of the great prophetess Miriam, which is described in one sentence, “…and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation…”(Numbers 20:1-2) Later in the same chapter we experience the death of Aaron, “…and Aaron died there in […]
Korach, Numbers 16:01-18:32
In contemporary commentary, Korach is sometimes described as a demagogue. Just as often, Talmud Brachot 58a is quoted: “Just as the faces of people do not exactly resemble one another, so too their opinions do not exactly resemble one another.” In our time, just about everyone, leaders on both sides of the aisle included, can be accused of responding with demagoguery. In […]
From the Pen of Executive Director Alison C. Brown
It is said that the tabernacle described in Exodus is a metaphor for our inner realms, the way our spirit works together with our mind to negotiate life. Parsha Terumah delineates the myriad details necessary to construct the Tabernacle. Commentators note, “God’s presence is not found in a building. It is found in the hearts and […]
By Hebrew Seminary President Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer
Our Torah portion this week, called Mishpatim, identifies the theory of reincarnation in many of our Judaisms. Our Torah portion begins, “These are the judgments that you shall place before them. “ According to the Kabbalah, and the Divine Rabbi who wrote the ZOHAR , Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, this verse means “This is the order of […]
From the Pen of Executive Director Alison C. Brown
The Joseph story with its many turns of fate is compelling on many levels. The events of his life speak to us of the vicissitudes of mind, body, and spirit that we all experience. I too have found myself at the bottom of a pit hollowed out by the loss of a loved one. While we […]
This week’s Torah portion, Kedoshim, is the single Torah portion that not only inspired me to be a rabbi, but recognizes the amazing teaching of Judaism.
When the world was overwhelmed by war, from Mesopotamia to Europe, when communities were pitted one against the other, the Scriptural author of Judaism, rather than enter into the fray of competition, wrote in our magnificent Torah, “Thou shalt […]