Torah Reflections
Each week, Rabbi Olivier prepares a written reflection on the weekly Torah portion. These provide yet another way to discover the texts sacred to Judaism and to prepare for Shabbat each week.
Torah Reflections: July 9- 15, 2017
Pinchas Numbers 25:10 - 30:1 Rabbi Moses There is a beautiful passage in this week’s Torah portion where God tells Moses to ascend a mountain and, from its peak, to gaze at the Promised Land before him. After that, God says to him, you “shall be gathered to your kin.”...
Torah Reflections: July 2- 8, 2017
Balak Numbers 22:2 - 25:9 Happiness Beyond Thought This week’s Torah portion tells the story of Balak and Balaam. Balak is king of Moab. As the parashah opens, his kingdom is threatened to be invaded by the Israelite armies encamped at his borders. He and his soldiers...
Torah Reflections: June 11- 17, 2017
Sh'lach L'cha Numbers 13:1 - 15:41 Why The Spies Were Wrong This week, in Torah, we meet again the story of the twelve elders, leaders of the Hebrew tribes, whom Moses sends to spy upon the Land of Canaan ahead of the Israelites’ invasion. Returning after forty days...
Torah Reflections: June 4 – 10, 2017
B'haalot'cha Numbers 8:1 - 12:16 The Many Branches of Our Inner Menorah The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you kindle the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.” Aaron did so… This is the...
Torah Reflections: May 28 – June 3, 2017
Nasso Numbers 4:21 - 7:89 The True Purpose of Blessing In our Torah reading this week we happen upon one of the central blessings of our tradition; the Priestly Blessing. And the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying; Speak to Aaron and to his sons saying; Thus you shall...
Torah Reflections: May 21 – 27, 2017
B'midbar Numbers 1:1 - 4:20 Too Big to Fail “Too big to fail.” It seems this pithy phrase has become the new mantra of American life since 2008. Time and again our news media brandishes the fear of financial disaster if this company goes under, or that country doesn’t...
Torah Reflections: May 14 – 20, 2017
B'har - B'chukotai Leviticus 25:1 - 27:34 The Evolving God of Our Understanding The last Torah portion in the Book of Leviticus, B’chukotai, begins with: “If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments…” [Lev. 26:3] and continues with defining for us all...
Torah Reflections: May 7 – 13, 2017
Emor Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23 Knowing God vs. Playing God The beginning verses in this week’s Torah portion are rather challenging to our current understanding of spirituality. They define an impossibly strict code of holiness for the priestly caste. In reading these...
Torah Reflections: April 30 – May 6, 2017
Acharei Mot - Kedoshim Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30 Drawing Closer Through Generosity There is an interesting passage in this week’s Torah portion that caught my eye this time around. God, through Moses, asks the Israelites to only bring sacrifices at the entrance of the...
Torah Reflections: April 23 – 29, 2017
Tazria-Met'zora Leviticus 12:1 - 15:33 We Are Energy Bodies This week’s Torah portion is, admittedly, a challenge to our modern sensibilities. This portion talks about tzara’at, a skin affliction most translators define as leprosy; although no one knows what it was...
Torah Reflections: April 16 – 22, 2017
Sh'mini Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 Merging With The Light As our weekly reading resumes, following the end of Passover, we are met by one of the most mesmerizing stories in Torah: the fiery death of Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu. Most rabbis explain their deaths as Divine...
Torah Reflections: April 2 – 8, 2017
Passover 5778 Mah Nish'tanah? What has changed? Although we closed the Book of Exodus a couple weeks back, with Passover around the corner, its stories linger still in our consciousness. This is the time of the year, personally, when I delight in re-opening the...