The Rabbis ask in the Pesikta d’Rav Kahana: Why was the Torah given in the desert? To teach us that if a person does not surrender himself to it like the desert, he cannot merit the words of Torah. And to teach us that just as the desert is endless, so is the Torah without end. This week we are
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Teach me my God to bless, to pray On the mystery of the withered leaf, on the splendor of ripe fruit, On the freedom to see, to feel, to breathe, To know, to wish, to fail. Teach my lips blessing and song of praise, Renewing your time each morning, each night, Lest my day today be as yesterday Lest my
Read moreSo, let’s start by thinking about the methodology and the idea behind the Seder. This, the seder, night will be a very interesting collage and representation of our fantasies as well as our way of life, and by that I mean ethics and values and finally who we want to be, our vision and our dreams. If you look at
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Choosing a topic for a D’var Torah wasn’t an easy task this week. This week we read Parashat Tzav, which this year, because it’s a leap year, falls in the month of Adar, so tomorrow in addition to Parashat Tzav we will read Parashat Parah. This week we all have in mind the tragedy and the horror that filled
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ELE PEKUDEI HAMISHKAN – “These are the numbers of the Mishkan”, they are the words that begin our Torah portion. We are concluding the fifth of 5 Torah portions that are focused on the construction of the Tabernacle. We continue reading on Exodus 38:21 : “These are the numbers of the Mishkan that are counted by Moses’ command.
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Ki Tisah/ Breaking the Dishes : A case study in organizational management So Moshe went up the mountain… and for the Israelites he basically left and it wasn’t so clear what he was doing. We know that Moshe was called by God to make the stone tablets. But in their experience they were abandoned. And they felt desperate. Who was
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Reading from the Book of Kings for this week’s Haftarah: “And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him, and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they both made a league together”. How interesting it is that peace comes from WISDOM and not from righteousness! Apparently Amichai knew what he was talking about…. The Place
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Would you like to say something before we switch off the microphone? This is an important question to keep in mind in order to understand what the Torah has been talking about over the last parashot (portions) and specifically this week in Parashat Ki Tetze! And what is Torah’s answer? The largest list of commandments in the whole
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You came to me, to open my eyes. To me your body was a view, A window and a mirror. You came as night comes to the owl To show him, in the darkness, all things. And I learned: There’s a name For each eyelash and fingernail, And for every hair on the exposed flesh. And the scent
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Po Ve Sham 