life | Po Ve Sham

Tag Archives: life

It’s not what you think! But it is! #Parashat Re’eh

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

Deuteronomy 11: 26-28 רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃אֶֽת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְע֗וּ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ וְהַקְּלָלָ֗ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם וְסַרְתֶּ֣ם מִן־הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם… See, this day I set before you, blessing and curse: blessing, that you listen to the commandments of Adonai your God that I enjoin upon you this

Parashat Pekudei/ The Cloud of Uncertainty a

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

One of the most rewarding things that we experience, is when you finalize a work, to look at it and to rejoice in that creation! This Torah portion, Parashat Pekudei, is indeed that rewarding moment. The Ohel Moed – the tent of meeting that surrounds the Tabernacle is ready, the garments for the priest are ready and all the

You Shall Forget! My Take on parashat Ki Tisa

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

How many of you complain about forgetting things? We usually think about memory as a purely positive value and forgetfulness as a negative one. It turns out that in Jewish tradition these two values are a bit more nuanced. In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat “Ki Tisa”, we learn about Moses descending from Mt Sinai with the tablets of the

Breaking the Infinite with Holiness

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

In the world of Torah we often talk about the distinction between blessing and curse, between good and evil, between Yetzer Hatov – good inclinations, and Yetzer Hara – bad inclinations. Sometimes we tend to think that that’s the nature of our choices: there are good choices and bad choices. But that dichotomy knows nothing about Starbucks’ Tall, Grande and

This is Why Next Shabbat I am going to Be Walking For Life-organ donation

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

This week’s Torah portion is Tazria Metzora. It is the combination of two Torah portions that address two different topics: Tazria, that has to do with the time required for a woman to become ritually pure after delivery, and Metzora, which has to do with the illness of Tzara’at – commonly known today as Leprosity. And even when these topics

Where Are You!?A question, a GPS to our souls!

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky One comment

…The chief of the police asked: “How am I to understand that God, who is omniscient, asks Adam, ‘Where are you?’” The rabbi replied: “Do you believe that scripture is eternal and encompasses every age, every generation, and every person?” —- “Well now,” said the Zaddik, “in every age God addresses every person with the question, ‘Where are you in

Asking to See More Clearly/ Elul thoughts 3

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

Life without Teshuva is like being condemned to dwell in Plato’s allegorical Cave… It is to perceive the world under a mechanism that makes me believe that the shadows and echoes projected on the wall of my ego they are the reality. The month of Elul reminds me that sometimes all I can see is that wall; reflections but not

Death, Birth & The Secret Of Life: Impurity! Tazria- Metzorah

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Rabbi Nico Socolovsky Leave a comment

Yeshayahu Leibowitz explains that the reason to couple the Torah portions of Tazri’a and Metzora (Leviticus 12:1-15:33) in the Jewish communal reading of the Torah is that they both deal with biology of Man, with the biological filth of human existence. A central element in both portions is impurity. A woman who gave birth is considered impure for a period of