torah commentary
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Jul 30, 2009 | 0 
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Vaetchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
In this week’s Torah Portion, we read the timeless declaration known as the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
These wor...
Jul 02, 2009 | 0 | 14 |
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It never fails that a congregant in mourning mentions how the process of shiva has been healing. There is recognition that taking the appropriate time to reflect — on one’s loss and on the life o...
Jun 25, 2009 | 0 | 12 |
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Rabbi Norman Lamm, the chancellor of Yeshiva University, said last month, “With a heavy heart we will soon say kaddish on the Reform and Conservative movements.” Spokespersons for my movement — Con...
Jun 19, 2009 | 0 | 20 |
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Rabbi Eli Seidman,
Jewish Association on Aging
Shelach, Numbers 13:1-15:41
Anyone with a minimum of knowledge of military tactics can understand that an army would send reconnaissance scouts to su...
Jun 11, 2009 | 0 | 16 |
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What if an ungrateful assembly marched through the wilderness, prepared to turn its back on freedom if the diet provided in servitude could be guaranteed a la carte.
One of the strengths of the bib...
Jun 03, 2009 | 0 | 17 |
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Naso, Numbers 4:21-7:89
The beginning of chapter 5 in this week’s portion stresses that our nation must be careful to remove “spiritual contamination” from our midst.
I hold adult education classes...
May 21, 2009 | 0 | 17 |
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Becoming a bar or bat Mitzvah in America has developed into a far different ritual than our grandparents or great-grandparents knew. First, bat mitzvah was then unheard of. Second, a bar mitzvah, b...
May 14, 2009 | 0 | 16 |
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“Trapped white space.” Those were the last three words a member of the high school yearbook staff wanted to hear after completing, without the use of a computer, a layout. “Trapped white space” was...
May 07, 2009 | 0 | 25 |
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This portion contains one of the fundamental precepts of the Torah, namely the mitzvah of Kiddush Ha-Shem or sanctification of God’s name, and its opposite, the prohibition to desecrate God’s name ...
Apr 29, 2009 | 0 | 15 |
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My family and I chuckled when we learned the name of the new presidential pup: Bo. That was the name of our family’s dog from 1992 to 2005. My wife chose the name because of its double entendre i...