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: June 12 – 18, 2011
Parashah (portion) Sh'lach Lecha - Journey through our Inner Landscape Numbers 13:1 - 15:41 This week's Torah portion exemplifies for me the powerful impact Torah study can have on our daily lives. The text brings us to the episode of the scouts Moses sends, under...
Torah Reflections: June 5 – 11, 2011
Parashah (portion) Behaalot'cha - Receiving Torah with a Kiss Numbers 8:1 - 12:16 This month our community value, our midah, is Torah Study. And what better time to begin exploring this value than today, on the holy day of Shavuot. Shavuot is the celebration of the...
Torah Reflections: May 29 – June 4, 2011
Parashah (portion) Nasso - Freedom from the Yoke of Desires Numbers 4:21 - 7:89 In my last Torah Reflections, I defined mindfulness practice as the art of being present to each moment, of paying attention to each experience in our everyday life. I mentioned that...
Torah Reflections: May 22 – May 28, 2011
Parashah (portion) Bamidbar - The End of The World, Again Numbers 1:1 - 4:20 Congratulations! You have survived the latest end of the world prediction. For those of you who might not know, a certain Harold Camping predicted that Judgment Day, ushering in the end of...
Torah Reflections: May 15 – May 21, 2011
Parashah (portion) B'chukotai - The Path of Mindfulness in Judaism Leviticus 26:3 - 27:34 Had I planned it, I could not have chosen better verses than the two with which this week's Torah portion begins, to reflect upon this month's value/midah: Mindfulness. If your...
Torah Reflections: April 18 – April 26, 2011
Passover: Reading the Haggadah - Mandatory Generosity at our Seder Tonight, at our first Passover Seder, we will begin telling the story of our exodus from Egypt raising the matzah and saying in one voice: Ha lachma anya... This is the bread of affliction, the bread...
Torah Reflections: April 10 – April 16, 2011
Parashah (portion) Acharei Mot - Drawing Closer to God through Generosity Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30 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...
Torah Reflections: April 3 – April 9, 2011
Parashah (portion) Metzora - The Liberating Power of Generosity Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33 This week marks the beginning of our Passover preparation. This spring cleaning is both an outer process of emptying our homes of the forbidden chametz (product made of leavened...
Torah Reflections: March 27 – April 2, 2011
Psalm 100 - For The Joy of Serving Since this is the last week of our monthly focus on the midah, the value of joy, I thought I would deviate from the weekly Torah portion and offer a reflection, this week, on Psalm 100. Psalm 100 is one of the shortest Psalms in the...
Torah Reflections: March 20 – 26, 2011
Parashah (portion) Sh'mini - Joy and the Possibility of Forgiveness Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 The inaugural ceremony of the Tabernacle's dedication and the ordination of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood which began with last week's Torah portion, concludes this week....
Torah Reflections: March 13 – 19, 2011
Parashah (portion) Tzav - The Joy of the Chasidic Masters Leviticus 6:1 - 18:36 The value/middah for the month of March which our community selected is that of "Joy." Joy is subjective as--being a feeling--it is experienced through each of us differently. The...
Torah Reflections: February 20 – 26, 2011
Parashah (portion) Vayakhel - Calling All Angels Exodus 35:1 - 38:20 We are entering into the closing chapters of the Book of Exodus as the month of February and our focus on the midah/value of Service also conclude. This week's Torah portion marks the beginning of...