“Remember/Zachor” is one of the strongest Hebrew imperatives. Usually today we think of it in connection to the Holocaust – a Jewish duty to keep alive the memory of the 6 million and to never let the Nazis win posthumously.…
Torah Thoughts – Terumah 5777
Five hundred thirty-seven grave stones. This is the number of Jewish grave stones toppled over this past weekend at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia. At many of our cemeteries off of Pine Ridge road here in Buffalo there are gravestones…
Torah Thoughts – Mishpatim 5777
My maternal great grandfather, Mike Lock, came to this country from Russia in the 1910s as a young man. Like many Jews immigrated at the time, he and his family came with nothing and did whatever they could to make…
Torah Thoughts – Yitro 5777
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Yitro, is named after Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. In the Torah, Jethro is the one person who is Moses’ equal. A Midianite Priest, Jethro has experience in leadership and knew Moses prior to his ascension to…
Torah Thoughts – Beshalach/Tu B’Shevat
The first instinct the Israelites have after crossing over the Red Sea in this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, is not to get as far away from Egypt as possible, or even to seek out shelter or water, it is to…
Torah Thoughts – Bo
There are 54 Torah portions in the yearly cycle. Only three involve slavery. This week’s Torah portion, Bo, is the last of those three portions. From this point on, we will be free people wandering the wilderness on the way…
Torah Thoughts Exodus
So many parts of the beginning of the book of Exodus could apply to any time period. The Pharaoh who does not know Joseph, the fear of the might of the Israelites, the attempt to “deal wisely” with us because…
Torah Thoughts Vayichi
The word “he-aleh” comes up a lot in this week’s Torah portion, Vayichi. It comes from the Hebrew root A-L-H, meaning to go up. Here it is used to talk about the burial of Jacob and, later in the…
Torah Thoughts – Vayigash
I am a crier. I can’t help myself. Sometimes with congregants, sometimes while reading bed time stories to my kids, sometimes while watching a movie or a television program, and sometimes even during a commercial, I will find tears welling…
Torah Thoughts – Miketz
One of the most powerful blessings in the weekday Tefillah, or personal benedictions, asks God to “bless this our year and its abundant harvest for good. Grant blessing throughout the earth and satisfy us with your goodness” (translation from Mishkan…