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Give it a rest!
President George Washington instituted a sophisticated seven-year crop rotation system in his fields to improve agricultural output. He probably learned this system of giving fields a rest from Torah parshat Behar, which we read this week. We can "glean" some important lessons for our lives from the same lines of Torah. The key question is:…
May 24, 2016
Blemishes, One and All
One of the greatest blemishes on Biblical tradition is how it treats the so-called "blemish" of those who might be called into spiritual service. This week's Torah portion (Emor) shines this challenge directly in our eyes, dares us to flinch and calls us to make a repair. In ancient days, a "blemish" (Hebrew, mum) disqualified a…
May 15, 2016
Holy Shabbes, Batman!
The Torah portion this week contains the Holiness Code, Leviticus Chapter 19, which repeats either explicitly or implicitly the Ten Commandments as well as some additional instructions or commandments for being holy. We read that we shall be holy because Y-H-V-H is holy. Shall – not should; to be holy is a commandment, an obligation.…
May 9, 2016
My Mourning Jacket
I meet a lot of people just after the death of a spouse, parent or child. Often I wonder how they find the strength to re-establish their lives after devastating loss. Torah gives us an example in Aaron, the high priest, who re-emerges after the death of two of his sons. Even if none of us is…
May 1, 2016
Mixing Bitter with Sweet
Almost time for Passover dinner and the assembled guests are shifting their interests from songs to soup. At the apex of the Seder, we point to the Passover symbols and begin our meal with horseradish and haroset. It is also the moment when we balance the existential bitterness with the perception of sweetness. According to the…
April 25, 2016
Passover “Weight” Loss
The cleaning process in anticipation of Passover has us removing leavened foods from our pantries. We also find items other than breads and cereals which need to be discarded. And it is not just the jar of mayonnaise left over from last Passover. Are we supposed to only get rid of “leavening” or can we…
April 19, 2016
Going Out
It's time for spring cleaning, a lead-up to Passover's journeying of renewal and liberation from narrow places. Bounding beyond the narrow (tzar) troubles (tzarot) of bondage in "Egypt" (Mitzrayim) toward freedom anew maps to this week's similarly-named Torah portion (Metzora) journeying from illness and isolation toward health and restoration. In this journey from Egypt (Mitzrayim) and…
April 10, 2016
My Relationship With Food
Think about your relationship with food. Are you thrilled by trendy restaurants? Do you post food pictures on Instagram? Do you watch weight-loss competitions on TV? Another way to pay attention to food is how we choose what we eat. Judaism teaches mindfulness about eating animals. Jewish dietary practices (kashrut) seek to raise our consciousness about holiness in…
March 27, 2016
Keeping the Light On
Next time you are in a synagogue, gaze at the eternal flame atop the Ark. Its symbolism represents the beating heart of spiritual and community life, if we make it so. Our spiritual ethos, hope, aspiration and calling is that the light never goes out – or so we tell ourselves. This week's Torah portion…
March 20, 2016
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