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A Defect in Torah

The legacy of the Jewish people includes a striving for perfection in ourselves, in our children and in the world. The quest for perfection inherently acknowledges that each of us is imperfect in some ways. In Parashat Emor, such defects…

One Love, lots of neighbors

This week's double portion, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (Lev. 16:1-20:27), contains the famous phrase that Talmud's Rabbi Akiva recited while standing on one leg to summarize all of Torah (B.T. Shabbat 31a): "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). …

A Spiritual Time Out

This week we have a double portion, Tazria and Metzora. They both deal with the reasons for creating boundaries of time and space, and fixes due to being tamae, ritually unsure, or tahor, ritually, pure. For many who look at these two portions,…

Eat Your Way to Holiness

Tragedies often leave us bewildered and disaffected.  But Torah offers profound lessons in the wake of seemingly inexplicable tragedy.  In parashat Shemini, the text details eight days of dedication ceremonies for the beautiful new mishkan,…

All in: body, heart and soul

Among the reasons that Jewish yoga and chant cultivate loyal followings is their focus on the body as a spiritual portal. After centuries of Jewish focus on matters of the mind (study) and spirit (prayer), we are rediscovering the spirituality…

Great Seders, Less Stress

Ideas to Make Your Passover Seder Great  By Johanna Potts        Reduce the Passover Seder stress with these ideas on how to make your Seder great.  In fact the Seder within its own structure gives you some direction.  For example,…

The Freedom of Now

by Rabbi David Evan Markus as posted in My Jewish Learning on March 19.When does time begin? What does time measure? What came before the beginning? Such mind-bending questions evoke timeless truths especially relevant at this moment in…

Leadership Change: Front and Center

by Rabbi Evan KrameMoses hands off spiritual leadership to his brother Aaron and Aaron’s sons in Parashat Tzav (Leviticus Chapter 8 : 2 - 5) in a very public ceremony,   He becomes a facilitator for Aaron and his sons to assume…

Hello, is that God Calling? (Vayikra)

Rabbi David Evan Markus The opening of Torah’s middle book, Vayikra (Leviticus), asks a hidden question that is perhaps the most important question in Jewish spiritual life.Torah’s story of liberation and wandering goes on hiatus,…

Sacred Time

We speak of sacred time and sacred space as if they exist on their own. But they don't - their sacred nature is an attribute that we impose or imbue them with. We can easily ignore Shabbat and treat it like any of the other six days in the week…