“The LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’” (Gen 12:1) According to Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits, the history of Judaism begins with galut – exile. Abraham decided to go into exile, since there was no place for him in his […]

“Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it. But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast; of man, too, will I require a reckoning […]

Thoughts on Parashat Bereshit (Gen 1:1-6:8) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good […]God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the […]

September 23rd, 2016/20 Elul 5776 – This week’s Torah reading celebrates the bringing of the first fruits (Deut. 26: 1 – 11) While in the forty years of wanderings the observance of some of the Torah’s teachings were on a theoretical level. Now during the last parts of Moses address in Deuteronomy he directs the people […]