Torah Reflections

Sh'mini Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47   The ceremony to dedicate the Tabernacle and to ordain Aaron and his sons, which began in last week’s Torah portion (Tsav), was a protracted affair that lasted more than a week. Finally, on the eighth day (“BaYom HaSh’mini”), Moses...

Tzav Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36   In my approach to Torah, I see the text as myth, as spiritual parables, not reality. As such, the stories speak of universal archetypes relating to the human journey, and I often seek to unpack the deeper meaning of the text as if I...

VaYikra Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26 In the last few portions of the Book of Exodus, we left the Israelites busily building a Tabernacle in the desert wilderness so that God could dwell among them in this Sacred Space. For us, the mythical outward Tabernacle of our forebears,...

Pekudei Exodus 38:21 - 40:38 With parashat P’kudei, the Book of Exodus comes to a close. On the surface, these past weeks have told the story of our liberation from Egypt (Mitzrayim) and our experience at Sinai; yet at a deeper level, the text speaks of a spiritual...

Vayak'heil Exodus 35:1 - 38:20   The construction of the Tabernacle is about to begin in earnest, and the people are eager to start, but first Moses calls them together to issue a strict command from the Eternal: even during the construction of the Mishkan, “for...

Ki Tissa Exodus 30:11 - 34:35   When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him: Arise, make us a god who will go before us, for that fellow Moses—the man who brought us from the land...

T'tzaveh Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 The title of this Torah portion, T’tzaveh, is usually translated as “Instruct!” or “Command!” The word t’tzaveh has the same root as mitzvah, which also is usually translated as “commandment.” But a mitzvah is more than a commandment. It...

B'Shalach Exodus 13:17 - 17:16 When we approach biblical stories as myth, we no longer read the text literally but see it, instead, as the expression of a universal spiritual unfolding. Thus, the opening phrase of this parashah, “Now when Pharaoh let the people go…”...

HaAzinu Deuteronomy 32:1 - 52 Chutzpah. Whether Jewish or not, almost everyone knows this Hebrew/Yiddish word. The dictionary defines it as “unmitigated effrontery or impudence, gall, nerve, courage bordering on arrogance.” But there is a much deeper understanding of...

Nitzavim-Vayeilech Deuteronomy 29:1 - 31:30 One of the fascinating things about Semitic languages is the way words grow from a root (usually three letters) so that additional letters qualify, illustrate, and expand the meaning of the basic root. Take for example the...

Ki Tavo Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8 Sometimes it seems that the fast-approaching High Holy Days come way too early. The waning days of summer are still warm and inviting, kids are just starting back to school, gardens still need tending and harvesting—who has time to...

Shof'tim Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9 Parashat Shof’tim is read around the beginning of the month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish year. Less than 29 days separate us from Rosh HaShanah, New Year’s Day, and Elul is a time of taking personal inventory in preparation...