As we begin to explore this story of humankind outside the Garden of Eden, we, like Kayin, should be uncomfortable that our first encounter is with fratricide. Yet, if we are honest, we need to admit that we walk…
Tag: Yeshua
Sukkot – Shelter in a Temporal World
We live in a world that constantly reminds us of its impermanence. Everything we build, everything we possess, and even the bodies in which we live are temporary. Yet much of human life is devoted to creating permanence and security.…
Yom Kippur Is Not Judgment Day
There is something about Yom Kippur that can make us uncomfortable. We come into this day knowing that we are going to have to face ourselves. We will confess our sins and recite the Al Chet, acknowledging the many ways…
Shabbat Shuvah – Can’t Buy a Thrill
When We Do It Again There is an old Steely Dan album called Can’t Buy a Thrill. One of the best-known songs on the album is “Do It Again.” It has that unmistakable Steely Dan sound, a relaxed, bluesy groove…
Rosh Hashanah – Back to the Future
JMortonPhoto.com & OtoGodfrey.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Back to the Future Rosh Hashanah gives us something that is increasingly difficult to find in modern life: a sacred pause. We spend much of the year moving forward at a…
Vayeilech – If Life Is a Journey
This Shabbat, we read from Parashat Vayeilech, which brings us to the conclusion of Moses’ life. After forty years of leading the people of Israel through the wilderness, Moses knows that his own journey is coming to an end. He…
Shoftim – The Gift of Da’at
The Search for Spiritual Insight Human beings have always searched for spiritual insight. We long to understand what lies ahead, to make sense of life’s uncertainties, and to find wisdom beyond ourselves. That longing is not sinful. I believe it…
Re’eh – There Shall Be No Destitute Among You
A Kingdom Unlike Any Other The Torah places before us what appears to be a contradiction. In Deuteronomy 15:4 Moses declares with breathtaking confidence, “There shall be no destitute among you.” Yet only a few verses later he says, “The…
Eikev – Look to the Rock
The Rock Our Haftarah opens with one of Isaiah’s most beautiful invitations: “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek Adonai. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were…
Beha’alotcha – Salvation On Trial
This week’s parasha will introduce a theme that will characterize much of the remaining narrative of Bamidbar. Chapters 11-25 contain a series of refusals on the part of Israel to accept authority. In chapter 12 even Miriam challenges Moses’ authority.…