Thoughts on Parashat Vayikra 5785

Moshe was very bothered about the sin he committed, namely, that he didn’t wash his hands
and didn’t say a blessing before he ate. So he decided to see his rabbi, to confess the sin
hoping that it would make him feel better: “Rabbi, last week I didn’t wash my hands before I
ate, I didn’t say the blessing, and I am very upset about it.” – “Well, that’s not the most
severe sin in the world”, said the rabbi, “just remember to do it next time and every time
before you eat. But, out of pure curiosity, why did you not say the blessing?” asked the rabbi.
“Well the food itself wasn’t kosher, so I didn’t think it was appropriate” – “You ate non kosher
food? Hmmm… this is much more serious, Moshe.

Thoughts on Parashat Vayakhel 5785

In the parasha for this week, we see the culmination of weeks of careful instructions for constructing the Mishkan. We learned in the previous three parashot about what to do and how to do it, what to utilize and how much to utilize it with, and what specific specifications to utilize for each of the Tabernacle’s sections. Now that we get to read Parashat Vayakhel (and next week Pekudei, we often read together), it is time for action. Plans are useless unless implemented. The Torah presents us with a detailed account of what is done to construct it—because ultimately Judaism is always about action.

Thoughts on Parashat Tetzaveh 5785

One day, two old friends, Art and Joe, were sitting in a café, sipping their tea and arguing—like they had for the past 40 years—about when and how the Messiah would come.

“I’m telling you, Joe,” Art said, waving his spoon for emphasis, “the world is going to fall apart first. Total disaster! People will forget how to have a normal conversation, the price of everything will skyrocket, and absolute nonsense will be treated as wisdom. Then the Messiah will come to fix it all.”

Thoughts on parashat Yitro 5875

There is no peace—said GOD—for the wicked.
(Isaiah 48:22)

Our Sages, particularly, the rabbis of Talmud, loved all kinds of linguistic, semantic and logical approaches to the Torah, as well as intellectual experiments in terms of uncovering its hidden meanings and messages. They played with logical principles, often reversing logical implications. As a result of that, the verse I just quoted became a base for a talmudic concept which holds that if a person has a difficulty finding inner peace, it may be a sign that this person is wicked, or at least has done something bad or wrong. Today we know that while this may be one of the possibilities, the matter is much more complicated and typically a difficulty in finding inner peace does not indicate that the person affected by it is immoral or wicked. But there is some truth in this rabbinical concept, in this rabbinic judgement and we can find still some signposts for our spiritual life in it.

Thoughts on Parashat Bo

There is a talmudic story about a Rabbi who traveled to a foreign city, and asked a little boy what’s the best way to enter that city.

“Which is the road leading to the city?” asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya of a youngster sitting at a crossroads. “This is the shorter one,” replied the lad while pointing to one road, “but it is longer. The other road is longer but shorter.” Rabbi Yehoshua decided to take the first road, which had been described as the shorter one, but when he approached the city he found access to it blocked by gardens and orchards. He returned to the crossroads and challenged his young guide for suggesting the shorter road that had turned out to be the wrong one. “But I told you,” replied the boy, “that although it is shorter in distance, it is longer in reaching your goal.” (Eruvin 53b)

Thoughts on Parashat Vaera 5785

Prepare for a dry, philosophical thought.

What was the story of the exodus from the Land of Egypt about? Certainly it was about leaving a political entity, an empire with a corrupt political system that was self-serving for its elites. This is the social and political part of the whole process of the liberation of the chosen nation.

But the whole story of Exodus also has its spiritual aspect, not less important than the political one. It was about liberating ourselves from all kinds of habits – moral, psychological, cultural and religious, habits and patterns of behavior that did not allow for a full spiritual and moral development of the Jewish people. We were chosen by God to establish a new political entity in the land of Israel but also a new religious culture and civilization, i.e. Judaism, that would elevate human spiritual condition, necessary to create a just society…