In the context of last week’s voices coming from Israel: Minister of religious affairs David Azoulay said: Reform aren’t Jews! and MK Moshe Gafni added: Reforms are Jews but they are stabbing Torah on its back! This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Pinckhas, has a very special meaning. The lack of “filters” when we read Torah or interpret god’s will
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In Parashat Balak we are granted with the blessing “Ma Tovu”, which later will be adopted as the first sentence that we say every time we walk into a Jewish sanctuary. 2Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God rested upon him. 3He took up his parable and said, “The word of
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“This Torah portion begins with “Shelach lecha”. According to Rashi, God says – if you wish, send the envoys over to check. We often think that we need to see in order to believe. However this portion demonstrates that the truth is generally the opposite: we need to believe in order to see”. People know a lot about statistics, but statistics
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During the last ten years I met many many friends and colleagues struggling with this, emotionally flooded. Beautiful, brilliant and talented people becoming closed, passing hard times. And most of them not asking for help and therefore not receiving what is required in order to continue, to get over it. One of the things which worry me the most is the
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The capability to look with love and empathy and to grant the gift of a good word, a hug, a thought, your presence. Parashat Naso is the longest Parasha in the Torah, 176 verses! It continues to list details regarding enrollment in what later will become the Israeli army (not that of the nowadays state). To this end it deals with
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Army. This is the first word in my reading of Parashat Bamidbar, and it’s the most remarkable word. It is of course not a new word in the Torah, but it is a new concept. The Israelites are turning into a nation, and as such we need an army! Following God’s announcement to Moses about enrolling the people of Israel in
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Think about it! The Torah was delivered on Mount Sinai at the time in the midst of our walking in the desert. This means that if you compare it with milk or with the “food for our souls” as our Sages z”l did, this delivery would be closer to the idea of “Take away” than to sitting in your place
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Parashat Kedoshim: Res non verba! (Deeds not words) Often the role of the interpreter of the words of the Torah is to bridge the gap between the text and the reader. In other cases our role is much closer to delivering the message “as is”. Parashat Kedoshim (Lev. 19-20) is one of the latter, conveying a clear message and
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Experiences of an Immigrant who Learned to be a Mourner I was born and raised in Argentina. From the first years of my adolescence I participated in the ceremonies of Yom Ha’azmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). I remember these activities at the headquarters of Hacoaj, as well as the national ones organized by the juvenile Zionist movement in different areas in
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Po Ve Sham 