Causing God to Dwell in Our Midst
This week, in parashat T’rumah, Exodus25:1-27:19, the Torah details the commands for the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernace, or portable Temple. We can understand about the need to bring God into our presence, even today, when we imagine God to be beyond the ideas of a tent or an ark of the covenant that […]
Help Charlotte’s Jewish Students Get a Teacher Work Day for Rosh HaShanah
For those of you who live in Charlotte, please help to make Rosh Hashanah a teacher workday on September 5, 2013. It will make a huge difference to our hundreds and hundreds of Beth El students who want to attend synagogue on the High Holy Days. For just this week, until January 14th, CMS is […]
After Newtown…
A sermon from Friday, December 21, 2012 Genesis 46:28 Now Judah, he had sent on ahead of him, to Joseph, to give directions ahead of him to Goshen. When they came to the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot harnessed and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen. When he caught […]
A Jewish Take on a Superstorm
The world is not fair – while Abraham seems to argue for fairness in the treatment of Sodom and Gemorrah, still Lot needs to flee the disaster with his family. Bad things happen. Storms happen, and people run from storms, stay hunkered down in storms. What separates the fortunate on the Upper West Side of […]
Temple Beth El Women Support Women of the Wall
TBE Women stand united with Women of the Wall and for pluralism in Judaism, in Israel and everywhere!
When everyone is human, everything is personal
Torah-Inspired, Reflection of The Day: Today we look at B’midbar, Numbers 1:1 – 4:20 – the opening of the Book of Numbers, the book we call B’midbar, “In the wilderness”, in Hebrew. The census of the Israelites for the sake of taking account of their military capacity takes place in these opening chapters. One of […]
Realistic Theology
Torah-Inspired, Reflection of The Day: Today we look at B’chukotai, Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34 – two chapters, almost, with the first focused on the outcomes of following or not following God’s commandments, and the second on the rules about vows, concluding with the last verse of Leviticus: These are the commandments that Adonai commanded Moses […]
Avoid idolatry and avoid materialism
Torah-Inspired, Reflection of The Day: Today we look at B’har, Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2 – rules of economic fairness – forgiveness of debts; as well as rules about allowing land to rest on the seventh year. The text sums up the intent of these laws in the final lines which remind the Israelites that they […]
Everyone Gets Equal Treatment
Torah-Inspired, Reflection of The Day…it’s back, after the High Holy Day hiatus. Today we look at Emor, Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23 – rules about relationships, for priests, including an ostensibly offensive rule for the priesthood, quoted here: Lev. 21:17 Speak to Aaron, saying: A man of your seed, throughout their generations, who has in him […]
