Thoughts on parashat Ki Tisa The central event of this weekly portion of the Torah is the golden calf incident: [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a […]

Beit Warszawa, 6th. MARCH 2020 (Shabbat Zachor) – What does it mean to be a Priest? I am so glad that I am not one! As a Rabbi – a totally different concept of religious communal leadership – I am free to think for myself, to study and interpret texts according to my own best abilities and best conscience; I need to wear something that could be described as ”reasonably smart” to honour the occasions on which I officiate and to honour the congregation before which I stand, but there is no fancy prescribed uniform. To gain this status I have, it is true, to spend several years studying with approved teachers…

Thoughts on Parashat Terumah The Torah portion of this week is entirely devoted to the structure of Mishkan. Mishkan comes from the Hebrew root meaning shachan which means “to dwell”; the tabernacle was considered to be the earthly dwelling place or residence of God. God instructs Moses with words: Tell the Israelite people to get […]

The Torah portion for this week begins with a code of law which regulates social relations. The first part of this code (Ex 21:1-11) deals with slavery. As we know, this institution existed in ancient Israel, just like in other ancient states and cultures.

Thoughts on Parasha Yitro In this week’s Torah portion we find the story of Moses’ father-in-law, Yitro, who after having heard about everything that God has done for Moses and the Israelites by bringing them out of Egypt decides to join Moses and the people of Israel. So he comes to the desert along with […]