“When the ark was set out to move, Moses would say:  Advance, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and may your foes flee before you!’ (Numbers 10:35) Parashat B’ha-alot’cha records how the Israelites leave Sinai on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year since the Exodus (Num. 10:11).  It describes [...]

“So, too, any gift among the sacred donations that the Israelites offer shall be the priest’s.” (Num. 5:9)   Parashat Naso (Hebrew for “lift up”) is the longest parasha (portion) in the Torah with 176 verses.  It covers a lot of territory:  the responsibilities of the Levite clans for transporting the mishkan (sanctuary), maintaining the [...]

“As the Lord had commanded Moses, so he recorded them in the wilderness of Sinai.”  (Num. 1:19) This week’s Torah perspective comes from Mark Horowitz, JCC Association Vice President for Early Childhood and Family Engagement.   This week we begin the book of Bamidbar (literally, in the wilderness) or Numbers.  God speaks to Moses and [...]

“In this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his holding.”  (Lev. 25:13) Parashat B’har describes both the sh’mita (Sabbatical year) and yovel (Jubilee year) when land reverts to the original owner, slaves are set free, and debts are cancelled.  These practices demand both a certain amount of personal sacrifice as well as [...]

“These are the set times of the Lord, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time.”  (Leviticus 23:4) Parashat Emor is the heart of torat hakohanim (The Laws of the Priests), mostly dealing with sacrificial rituals, the work of the priests, and the holiday calendar. It ends, though, with a puzzling [...]

“You shall rise in the presence of an old person and honor the presence of a sage and you shall revere your God; I am God.” (Lev. 19:32) We read two parashot (portions) this week because of the way the Jewish calendar is calculated.  Months are determined by the moon’s cycle, but the year is [...]

“Then I will take My hand away and you will see my back; but My face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:23) Because this Shabbat falls during Pesach, the regular cycle of parashot (Torah portions) is interrupted by a special holiday reading. There is also a special haftarah, or reading from the Prophets, and many synagogues [...]

“Moses said the community, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.” (Leviticus 8:5) The altar or the iPad?  That’s the challenge Parashat Tzav presents this week.  Not literally, of course, but metaphorically.  Tzav repeats the instructions for how to perform the sacrifices and describes the ritual for ordaining the kohanim, the priests.  [...]