WUPJ Library
Torah from around the world #128
By Rabbi Steve Burnstein, Director, Anita Saltz International Education Center In April, 1983, I visited Israel for the first time as a participant on the High School in Israel program (before it became the Alexander Muss High School in Israel). It was an amazing, transformational experience that impacted the course of my life in many […]
Torah From Around The World #78
by Rabbi Gary M. Bretton-Granatoor, Vice President, Philanthropy, World Union for Progressive Judaism My beloved wife and I have been blessed with three children. Our youngest, Zach, is just about to begin his college studies, but I still remember holding him in the days of his infancy and as an infant, Zachary, had many lessons […]
Torah from Around the World #339
Recent Issues By: Rabbi Erin Polansky, the founding rabbi of Neshamah Congregation , a Reform community just north of Toronto. The High Holy Days will be upon us before we know it. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Are they big ones or small ones? This week’s Torah portion, Eikev , shows us […]
Torah from Around the World #284
Recent Issues Parashat Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25) By: Rabbi Paul (Shaul) R Feinberg, PhD, Associate Dean, Emeritus and Adjunct Associate Professor of Education, Emeritus; Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion , Jerusalem, Israel Thanksgiving for the Land and Its Bounty Thanksgiving for the Land and Its Bounty Thanksgiving for Being Thankful “…for the Eternal Your God […]
Torah from Around the World #177
by Rabbi Katalin Kelemen, Spiritual Leader of Sim Shalom Synagogue , Budapest, Hungary. “ When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless… ” The sidra Ekev is named after its second word which means literally “on the heel of”, i.e. “in consequence of” your obedience. It starts with one of the prominent themes […]
Torah from around the world #127
By Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Movement Rabbi, Movement for Reform Judaism, UK In Parashat Ekev (עקב), Moses continues his speech to the Israelites, outlining the consequences of obeying or disobeying God’s commandments. The rewards of obedience include continuing to enjoy the benefits of the covenant – health, abundant produce and fertility. The Israelite’s enemies will be […]
Torah from around the world #77
by Rabbi Pauline Bebe, Communauté Juive Libérale , Centre Maayan – Paris, France The very name of this parasha – EKEV – is a drash in and of itself; no need to go further. Sometimes a mere utterance is worth a long speech. As one of my teachers, Rabbi Lionel Blue, used to say: you […]
Torah from around the world #26
By Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild, Landesrabbiner of Schleswig-Holstein, rabbi of Or Chadasch , Vienna There is a big, very big, question hidden in Deuteronomy 9:5. The Israelites, says God, are not to give themselves any credit for the fact that their opponents are driven out of the Land which they, the Israelites, are now to […]
Torah from Around the World #338
Sh’ma Yisrael! – The Voices WE Hear By Rabbi Norman T. Roman, Rabbi Emeritus Temple Kol Ami of West Bloomfield, Detroit, Michigan (USA) We sometimes overlook a special talent, such as Moses demonstrated, especially in the last book of the Torah, D’varim – Deuteronomy. While this week’s Parasha, Va-etchanan, gives us further insight into his […]
Torah from Around the World #283
Recent Issues Parashat Vaethanan (Nachamu) 3:23-7:11 By: Rabbi Roberto Graetz, Temple Isaiah , Los Angeles, USA The cycle of weekly Torah readings and the prophetic readings in the Haftarah is in many ways daunting. We just finished three weeks where the prophets spoke harsh words of admonition ( puranuta ). On this Shabbat known both […]
Torah from Around the World #176
by Rabbi Philip Cohen, Ph.D., rabbi of Agudas Israel Congregation , Hendersonville, North Carolina Parashat V’etchanan contains the restatement of the Ten Commandments first articulated in the book of Exodus. The major difference between the two versions regards the command for Shabbat, and this difference is noteworthy. In the first version of the Decalogue, Shabbat […]
Torah from around the world #126
by Rabbi Sheryl Nosan-Blank, Founding Rabbi of The Nefesh Project We Jews know hate well. Against impossible odds, we survive consuming flames of anti-Semitism. Against lurking fears, we are sometimes urged to safeguard embers of hate for people, or peoples, who’ve hated us. Hate, like love, is pervasive and powerful. This week’s readings challenge us […]