“And the Lord’s cloud kept above them by day, as they moved on from camp.” (Numbers 10:34) In Parashat B’haalot’cha God commands Moses to assign the lighting of the menorah to his brother Aaron, the first High Priest.  This is a signal honor, and foreshadows the role Aaron’s descendants, the Hasmoneans, will play in saving [...]

“This was the dedication of the altar, on the day it was anointed, from the leaders of Israel: twelve silver bowls, twelve silver basins, twelve gold ladles.” (Numbers 7:84) Parashat Naso closes with the chieftains of the twelve tribes bringing gifts to the newly completed and consecrated mishkan, or Tabernacle, one offering each day.  The [...]

“They shall take charge of all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, a duty on behalf of the Israelites, doing the work of the Tabernacle” (Numbers 3:8) Parashat Bamidbar (in the desert), like Exodus, opens with a list of names. In Exodus it is Jacob’s twelve children, who become the Israelite tribes. In Bamidbar, two leaders [...]

“Throughout the land that you hold, you must provide for the redemption of the land.” (Leviticus 25:24) Parashat B’har-B’chukotai contains the famous phrase:  “Proclaim liberty throughout the land,” (Lev. 25:10) It’s inscribed on the Liberty Bell, which was rung to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  That’s not exactly what the [...]

“When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.”  (Leviticus 23:10) Parashat Emor includes a complete listing of the holidays in the Jewish calendar.  Included in the descriptions is the injunction to “…Count for yourselves from the [...]

“You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from other people’s to be mine.” (Leviticus 20:25) 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 determined by the [...]

“The owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ”Something like a plague has appeared upon my house.”  (Leviticus 14:35) 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 determined by the sun’s.  Therefore, a [...]

“For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God: you shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45) Parashat Sh’mini includes the first of two major collections of dietary laws in the Torah (Deuteronomy 14 is the second).  The Torah gives no reason for why [...]

“You shall hold a festival for the Lord your God seven days, in the place that the Lord will choose…” (Deuteronomy 16:15) The ancient way of announcing the new Jewish month was to light bonfires on the hilltops, once witnesses had testified they had seen the new moon.  Because the diaspora Jewish communities lived at greater [...]

“That very day God freed the Israelites from the land of Egypt, in their legions.” (Exodus 12:51) Because this Shabbat falls during Pesach, the regular cycle of parashot (Torah portions) is interrupted by a special reading related to the holiday.   Not surprisingly, the reading focuses on the night of the Exodus:  God’s instructions to the [...]