WUPJ Library

Rabbi Becky Hoffman | Temple Ahavat Shalom, California, USA Some might say that this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, is not the most interesting stuff we read in the Torah. As it is presented, it does not necessarily meet the sensibilities of modern progressive Jews. Sacrifice, as presented in this Torah portion, could be viewed as […]

What can Tzav teach us about religious leadership? It invites us to consider the responsibilities of a religious leader, the support the community might be asked to provide them, and the ways that a religious leader may be distinguished or recognized by the community.

Rabbi Becky Hoffman | Temple Ahavat Shalom, California, USA Some might say that this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, is not the most interesting stuff we read in the Torah. As it is presented, it does not necessarily meet the sensibilities of modern progressive Jews. Sacrifice, as presented in this Torah portion, could be viewed as […]

The Torah declares: “These are p’kudei haMishkan, the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding…” (Exodus 38:21). The types and amounts of materials that went into the Mishkan, the priestly garments, and the sacred tools are listed in detail. While not an engaging narrative, this section sets a vital precedent for financial accountability and transparency among our public and private sector leaders from ancient times through today.

The selfie with a cell phone might seem quintessentially 21st Century but Midrash on our parasha would suggest that there is an ancient precursor to this life-affirming use of self-reflecting imagery.

While modern readers associate Exod. 27:20-21 with the eternal lamp (ner tamid), when the sixth century CE poet Yannai set out to compose a liturgical poem (piyyut) for the week when the parashah began with these verses, he drew his inspiration from a different lamp: the seven-branched lampstand (menorah) that would become an emblem of the Temple and, to many, of Judaism as a whole.

Hanging in my office is a framed verse from this week’s Torah portion, Terumah – “They shall make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell in them”.  (Exodus 25:8) 

All of the different translations of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, have a philosophy, a way of going about their task. And part of that philosophy is wrestling with an important dilemma: How “smoothly” should you try to convey what the Bible, or in our case, the Torah, is trying to say?

Our Torah portion, parshat Yitro, finds Moses exhausted and overwhelmed. Can we blame him? He has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, having to deal with every single problem experienced by each Israelite. One can only imagine the mishegas he had to sort out over the course of an average day.

In parshat Beshalach, our people are about to cross the sea. We’re on the verge of freedom but before the story continues, we read that God has a plan to minimize our fear, our anxiety and even our regret. God will lead us on the slow path, through dry land, into and through the wilderness and eventually, to the Promised Land. God has a plan to try to minimize our trauma.

Rabbi Neal I Borovitz | Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Avodat Shalom, New Jersey, USA “VaYomer Adonai el Moshe Bo el Paroh” is the first clause of the opening verse of this week’s Parsha. Most English Bibles, based upon both Jewish and Christian scholarship, translate   “Bo el Paroh “as a Divine command to Moses to: Go to […]

The Torah portion, Va’era, presents a profound paradigm shift, the revelation of a divine name/attribute heretofore unknown, even to our Patriarchs and Matriarchs.