Is the Torah the Hebrew Bible? Is the Torah the Hebrew Scriptures? What is the Torah? The Torah is the primary document of Judaism. Torah, which means “teaching”, is God’s revealed instructions to the Jewish People. It teaches Jews how to act, think and even feel about life and death.
Weekly Sidra: Nasoh (Lift up) Torah Portion: Bamidbar / Numbers 4:21-7:89 Haftorah: Shofetim / Judges 13:2-13:25 “There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are barren and have borne no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or other intoxicant, or to eat anything unclean. For you are going to conceive and bear a son; let no razor touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite to God from the womb on. He shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines." (Judges 13:2-5) This week’s Parashat means to lift up. Among the many topics it deals with is that of the Nazarite vow. The Haftarah portion [...]
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This is a double parsha, made up of parshas Behar and Bechukotai. The seven aliyot of this week’s reading are indicated by special aliyah markings within those two parshas in the Chumash. Parshiyot Behar and Bechukotai are power-packed doubleheaders, this one emphasizing the connection between the Jew and Eretz Yisrael. The lunisolar Hebrew c ...
Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before HaShem alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. 2 And fire came forth from HaShem and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of HaShem. [Vayikra 10:1-3] This weeks Torah reading deals in part with the death o ...
We have the culmination of the Mishkan (Taberncle) creation and beginning of use, doubled with the beginning Aaron and his sons being set aside as high priests occurring this week in the portion Shemini. Aaron loses two of his sons to the Most High’s fire and HaShem gives us the kosher dietary laws, kashrut. This parsha has quite the storylin ...
Seder traditions for us are an collection of practices that are Sephardic in origin, but for many of us these practices have grown and changed because they were practiced underground in either maranno or crypto-Jewish households. Remember: Sephardic Passover customs and traditions can vary from region to region, country to country, city to city, co ...
Korban Pesach (Hebrew: קרבן פסח "sacrifice of Passover") also known as the "Paschal Lamb" is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates to be brought on the eve of Passover, and eaten on the first night of the holiday with bitter herbs and matzo. According to the Torah, it was first offered o ...
The Korban Todah (offering of thanksgiving) of a Nation. The special laws of the korban Pesach (offering of Passover) can be understood in a similar manner, for it too is an offering of thanksgiving – not for a personal case of redemption, but rather for our national redemption. Let’s review the special laws of the korban Pesach to show ...
We mark the passage of time between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) by the “counting of the omer.” A period of seven weeks is observed in which each day is counted off for 49 days ending on the fiftieth day known as Shavuot /Pentecost (Pentecost-means 50). It is the number of days from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest. ...
Las dos clases de Espiritu: Verdadero y Falso, ¿sabrias distinguir? En la Sidra (porción) de la semana encontramos un pasaje que por razones anti-Biblicas no se estudia, no se practica, no se aplica personalmente, ni se motiva a practicarle y hay de aquel que le practique! ¿Y esto por que? ¿Cual es la raíz de esta ...
This last week we had a double Parashat, with the ending of the book of Shemot or Exodus, bringing to us the idea about giving and participating in community with the building of the Mishkan, bringing Kehal Israel as one where together we would do according to their own giftedness in the areas in which God has endowed us. To do so we all first need ...
Weekly Sidra: Ki Tisa (when you lift up) Torah Portion: Shemot / Exodus 30:1-34:35 Haftorah: Melachim Alef / I Kings 18:20-18:39 This parashah, Ki Tisa begins with the giving of the half shekel by every man over 20 years, equally rich and poor alike as an offering to make atonement for their souls. This takes place after the go ...
Y pensará en cambiar los tiempos y la Torá (instrucciones del Eterno). Las escrituras de Israel traen vida, y es por eso que Tehilim (Salmos) dicen: 1:1 Dichoso el varón que no anduvo en consejo de malos, Ni estuvo en camino de pecadores, Ni en silla de escarnecedores se ha sentado; 1:2 Sino que en la Torá ( ley) de HaSh ...
The spiritual cycle of the Jewish year depends on an interaction among the flow of holidays, the marking of Rosh Chodesh (the new month) and the weekly Shabbat (Sabbath) observance. The holidays and fast days sometimes permeate the surrounding Shabbatot (plural of Shabbat) with holiday themes. These special Shabbatot may create the mood for an upco ...
Weekly Sidra: Ki Tisa (when you lift up) Torah Portion: Shemot / Exodus 30:1-34:35 Haftorah: Melachim Alef / Kings I 18:1-39 This Shabbat we read two portions, the weekly portion of Ki Tisa and a special portion for Parshat Parah (פרשת כי תיסע – פרה). ...
Hay una tradición mística que indica que el judio gana una Ietera Neshamá, un alma adicional, en Shabat. Durante esas 25 horas, es doblemente cargado de espiritualidad, o por lo menos potencialmente lo es. Aunque Rashi, el gran rabino medieval francés y comentarista, no es el autor de esta idea, su comentario s ...
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