[On February 14th] the town of Parkland, Florida made the news because of a school shooting that left 17 people dead—most of them teenagers. There are now about 5 such shootings each month in America. Since 20 first graders were killed in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, there have been some 239 school shootings, taking 138 innocent lives, injuring and traumatising countless more. That is, since I’ve been with you here in Sydney, 240 school shootings have taken place in America, and many more at large public venues, like music concerts and night clubs.
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Truth to Power | Parashat Balak
In today’s day and age, it is almost trite to talk about the power of words. Trite, because unless you’ve been living under a rock,…
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Parashat Tetzaveh
My brother-in-law has many talents. In addition to playing the banjo, he’s a builder and carpenter; attorney specializing in environmental issues; and all around good guy. But his passion is olive farming…
Read MoreThe Rules: Mishpatim 5778
After the thunder and the lightning, the blare of horns and the smoking mountain, after the chaos and the ecstasy and the fear and trembling of the revelation at Mt. Sinai, we get the rules. Parashat Mishpatim is where we begin to move from the sweeping narrative of the Book of Genesis and the first part of the Book of Exodus to the more granular, specific, some-might-even-say overly detailed descriptions of laws and ritual that occupy most of the rest of Exodus and all of Leviticus.
Read MoreWhat Makes a Good Leader | Parashat Yitro
But Moses’ father-in-law said to him: “The thing you are doing is not right. You will surely wear yourself out and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone.” (Exod. 18:17-18) People who criticize the Bible as being irrelevant to the present are usually the ones […]
Read MoreA Jewish View of Miracles: Parashah Beshalach
In the view of the rabbis, miracles were not interruptions of nature’s laws. At Creation, God had provided for them in advance as a part of the cosmic plan. To pray for a miracle would be wrong because God has already determined when miracles are to appear; they are not a product of human pleading. What can this tell us about our world today?
Read MoreThere Is No Judaism without Jews | Parashat Bo
Go, worship the Lord your God! Who are the ones to go? Moses replied, “We will all go, young and old. We will go with our sons and our daughters, our flocks and our herds; for we must observe the Lord’s festival.” (Exod. 10:8-9) Jewish tradition declares that “God, Israel and the Torah are One.” […]
Read MoreOn the Divine Name | Parashat Vaera
God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by my Name [Yod, Hay, Vov, Hay].” (Exod. 6:2-3)
Judaism has always shown its reverence for the name of God by the tradition of not pronouncing it. Thus, the letters Yod, Hay, Vov, Hay are combined with the vowels for Elohim and the pronounced word Adoshem or “Lord” is substituted for the vocalization.
Read MoreUs and Them: Divide and Misrule – Shemot 5778
It just takes a few divisive speeches, a few divisive decrees – and the entire society is doomed, even if may take a while, even if it does not realise it yet. Our problem is not the ”Pharaoh who knew not Joseph”, but the modern Pharaohs who ”do not know” of this one, and what he did, and the price that his country eventually paid. Can modern political leaders learn from these lessons?
Read MoreVaYechi
The Torah portion Va’yechi is the concluding parsha of the first book of Torah, B’reishit. It ends the narrative of the founding mothers and fathers of our folk and faith, and also concludes the complex and compelling story of Joseph. As such, it has many aspects of endings, including Jacob’s death-bed blessings given to his sons and grandsons plus explicit instructions regarding his burial.
Read MoreChesed v´Emet: Love and Truth – Parashat Vayigash
The reconciliation between Yosef and his brothers is one of the most eloquent scenes, not just of the Bible, but of all World literature.
Let’s review the facts. After having children with Leah and the 2 concubines, Yaakov finally has a son with his beloved Rachel, who he obviously spoils and overprotects above his brothers. Young Yosef begins to have dreams of greatness, which he tells to his brothers, and as such he wins their hatred.
One day Yaakov sends Yosef to look for his brothers who were delayed. Upon seeing him, they throw him in a well and want to kill him, but in the end they decide not to spill his blood themselves and instead sell him as a slave. They take the special coat that Yaakov had given only to him, stain it with blood, and go and tell Yaakov that Yosef was killed by a beast.
Imagine the pain of the old patriarch!
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