by Bet Alef Administrator | May 19, 2023 | Torah Reflections
B’midbar Numbers 1:1 – 4:20 Having meditated throughout the Book of Leviticus on the mitzvot we must perform to ensure that the Holy One dwells among us, we now resume the story of our ancestors in the ancient wilderness, starting where we left off at the...
by Bet Alef Administrator | May 12, 2023 | Torah Reflections
B’har – B’chukotai Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34 On July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell was rung in Philadelphia to mark the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants...
by Bet Alef Administrator | May 4, 2023 | Torah Reflections
Emor Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23 Sometimes the Holiness Code in the Book of Leviticus seems so foreign to our modern understanding of spirituality that it’s a real challenge to comprehend the underlying principles. Such is the case with the opening verses of Parashat...
by Bet Alef Administrator | Apr 21, 2023 | Torah Reflections
Tazria-Metzora Leviticus 12:1 – 15:33 This week’s a dual Torah portion contains a number of passages that definitely challenge our modern sensibilities. Many verses are devoted to tzara’at, a skin affliction that most translators define as leprosy,...
by Bet Alef Administrator | Apr 13, 2023 | Torah Reflections
Sh’mini Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47 Growing up, I always had difficulty with the concept of doing “God’s will.” The rabbis of my youth spoke of observing the mitzvot—the divinely prescribed do’s and don’t’s in the Torah, Talmud, and Halachah—but I questioned...
