Thoughts on Parashat Bereshit 5786

As we open the Torah to Parashat Bereshit (Genesis 1:1–6:8) in 5786, we are invited to reflect on the very act of creation—a divine process that brings order from chaos and imbues the world with purpose. The Talmud, in Shabbat 119b, teaches us that “the Sabbath gives meaning to the work of creation.” This insight, rooted in Genesis 2:1–3 where God rests on the seventh day, frames the Sabbath not merely as a pause but as the culmination and purpose of the six days of creation. The Sabbath transforms the act of making into an act of meaning, offering a profound counterpoint to a worldview that sees the universe as devoid of purpose. In this D’var Torah, we explore how Bereshit’s vision of creation, crowned by Shabbat, reveals a universe infused with divine order, human purpose, and the delicate balance of chaos and stability.[…]

Thoughts for Shabbat Sukkot 5786

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom everyone. Sukkot is considered the most joyous of Jewish holidays. One of its biblical names is Z’man Simchateinu – “The time of our rejoicing”. It is actually our religious obligation to be happy on every day of Sukkot. And the best way, I believe, to achieve this goal is to please other people – your wife, husband, your children, parents, namely, everyone in your family and – best case scenario – everyone in your community.[…]

Thoughts on Parashat Nitzavim 5785

“You stand this day, all of you, before your God יהוה —your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, every householder in Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer —to enter into the covenant of your God יהוה […] (Deuteronomy 29:9-11)

These words, spoken by Moses to the Israelites on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, echo across centuries to us, a small but vibrant Jewish community reborn in the heart of Poland. We live in unprecedented times, a world bursting with possibilities—technological marvels, global connections, and opportunities for renewal. Yet, these days are also turbulent, marked by civilizational and social tensions, from rising populism to global conflicts and the lingering shadows of antisemitism. The history of Polish Jews is a history of resilience and revival, and it infuses the message of parashat Nitzavim with hope, urging us to embrace our role in shaping a brighter future for ourselves, our people, and all humanity as we approach the High Holy Days.[…]

Thoughts on Parashat Ki Tavo 5785

In the summer of 2012, during a multi-day Torah and Talmud study program called “Mini-Yeshiva” at the local Orthodox Jewish Community in Lublin, I met Rabbi Boaz Pash.A wonderful, warm, kind, smart and witty man, with enormous knowledge, who served as a rabbi in the kehila in Krakow several years earlier. Even though he was born in Jerusalem, his Polish was fluent, which is very impressive. I met with him later several times at different Jewish events in Poland, and was always impressed with the way he approached people. Why am I talking about him? His brother, Icchak Pash, also a rabbi, was murdered in the recent terror attack in Jerusalem, last Monday. This made me again realize how not-numerous, vulnerable and easy-to-hurt we are as people, and therefore relatively easy it is to destabilize our Jewish communities, inducing the largest of them – the one in Israel.[…]