Category: Torah

Parashat Shoftim Haftarah: Like Grass

Like Grass

We define ourselves by our covenant, by the terms of our relationship with God. It goes in cycles like grass—growing, dying, growing again.

Parashat Shoftim Study Guide: Go Home!

Study Guide: Go Home!

This week’s study guide looks at the preparations made before going to war and the considerations that must be taken into account.

No Going Back

No Going Back

This parashah deals with the administration of justice in the land of Israel and the connection between no going back to Egypt.

Parashat Re'eh Haftarah: Birth Before Labor

Birth Before Labor

In looking at this week’s haftarah, explore the concept of birth before labor, as demonstrated by the concept of labor pains in our stories.

Parashat Re'eh Study Guide: To Lend or To Give?

Study Guide: To Lend or To Give?

The study guide for Parashat Re’eh looks at the relationship between the shmitah year, debts, loans, and tzedakah.

The Long and Short of It

The Long and Short of It

The Dvar Torah for Parashat Re’eh explores choosing between two paths, the long and the short of it, when the choices are presented.

Parashat Eikev Haftarah: Birthing Israel

Birthing Israel

This week’s haftarah compares the birthing of Israel in the generations recorded in the Torah with similar experiences in the haftarah.

Parashat Eikev Study Guide: Food or Famine? Up to Us?

Study Guide: Food or Famine? Up to Us?

The study guide for parashat Eikev explores the Shema and the mitzvot mandated by the sacred prayer, such as mezuzot and tefillin.

A Conduit of Blessing

A Conduit of Blessing

In this parashah, Moshe prepares the people for their entry into Israel, extolling the conduit of blessing that they are about to conquer.

Parashat Va'etchanan Haftarah: Alone or Lonely?

Alone or Lonely?

This Shabbat is Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comforting, so we explore if what it means to be alone or lonely.

Parashat Va'etchanan Study Guide: Danger of Complacency

Study Guide: Danger of Complacency

This week’s study guide explores the danger of complacency in relation to our parashah, using commentary by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.

Moshe the Mother

Moshe the Mother

In this week’s parashah, we see a depiction of Moshe the Mother as he pleas with God to enter the land of Israel with the Israelites.

Parashat Devarim Haftarah: On Dialogue

On Dialogue

This week’s haftarah is the final haftarah of the Three Weeks before Tisha b’Av and presents a parallel on dialogue between Isaiah and Eicha.

Study Guide: Ejection Born from Rejection

The study guide for parashat Devarim looks at the story of the twelve spies, in the books of Devarim and Numbers, and connects a midrash.

Moshe's Memoir

Moshe’s Memoir

Deuteronomy presents an interesting paradox to the literary reader of the Bible in the form of Moshe’s memoir.

Parashat Matot-Masei Haftarah: The Boiling Point

The Boiling Point

In these weeks leading up to Tisha B’av, we read a passage of Jeremiah, overflowing with water imagery and see the boiling point.

Parashat Matot-Masei Study Guide: All Over Again?!

Study Guide: All Over Again?!

This week’s study guide continues an ongoing conversation about how to divide the land of Israel for the tribes of the Israelites.

A Lyric of Love

A Lyric of Love

Parashat Masei opens with a long list of all the encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness and discusses a lyric of love.

Marriage (and) Vows

Marriage (and) Vows

Our parashah begins with the laws governing oaths and vows. Then the Torah discusses the various types of vows and how they are used.

Parashat Pinchas Haftarah: Building Walls

Building Walls

This week’s haftarah marks the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’av and uses Jeremiah’s words to do so, when Israelites are building walls.

Parashat Pinchas Study Guide: The Land Should Be Divided

Study Guide: The Land Should Be Divided

The study guide for Parashat Pinchas investigates the division of the land of Israel among the twelve tribes of the nation.

Moshe's Forced Retirement

Moshe’s Forced Retirement

At the end of the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness, Moshe’s job is terminated prematurely. This explores Moshe’s forced retirement.

Parashat Balak Haftarah: What is Good?

What is Good?

There is something disturbing in hearing basic tenants of human decency presented as revelatory. Our haftarah explores what is good.

Parashat Balak Study Guide: My Land or My Resources?

Study Guide: My Land or My Resources?

The study guide for Parashat Balak continues the discussion of a concept in the study guide for Parashat Chukat, about passing through land.

The Unwanted Gaze

The Unwanted Gaze

In Parashat Balak, the Moabite king Balak hires Bilaam to curse his Israelite neighbors. Bilaam notices the prevention of the unwanted gaze.

Parashat Chukat Haftarah: Powerful Vows

Powerful Vows

Our haftarah this week tells the brutal story of powerful vows and human sacrifices and all of the complications that go with it.

Parashat Chukat Studay Guide: Passing Through the Land

Study Guide: Passing Through the Land

The study guide for Parashat Chukat focuses on the Israelites passing through the land and their relationship with other regions.

Spare the Rod

Spare the Rod

This week’s parashah, Chukat, focuses on the story of Moshe hitting the rock, choosing not to spare the rod, to get water.

Parashat Korach Haftarah: Saul and Eve

Saul and Eve

This week’s haftarah discusses Saul’s assumption of power as the first king of Israel. Bex Stern Rosenblatt compares Saul with Eve.

Parashat Korach Study Guide Do As I Mean, Not As I Say

Study Guide: Do As I Mean, Not As I Say

Korach led a rebellion against Moshe (and Aaron). Ahead of the incense trial, Korach gathers the congregation against Moshe and Aaron.

Disputations Without Denigrations

Disputation Without Denigration

Korach and his followers, a rebellion undermining the leadership of Moshe and Aaron, teach about disputation without denigration.

Parashat Shlach Haftarah: Whores and Heroes

Whores and Heroes

This week’s parasha starts out gloriously—we scout out the land in order to enter it. Then we investigate the concept of whores and heroes.

Parashat Shlach Study Guide: Stronger Than Whom?

Stronger Than Whom?

The study guide for Shlach focuses on the phrase used by spies, that the people of the land of Israel were too strong for the Israelites.

Spies and Tzitzit: Camela and Death

Spies and Tzitzit: Camels and Death

Our parashah is bookended by the story of the spies and tzitzit. This leads to a discussion on the obligation of mitzvot.

Parashat Behaalotcha Haftarah: On Regifting

On Regifting

We look at Leah’s children’s names and how its haftarah connection. Through this, we work on regifting God’s gift to the rest of the world.

Parashat Behaalotcha Study Guide: Blisters On Feet or The Soul?

Study Guide: Blisters On Feet or The Soul?

This week’s study guide looks at the complaints of Bnei Yisrael, as they are wandering through the desert, and what is behind this.

Lamps Give Light

Lamps Give Lights

Behaalotcha describes the appointment of seventy elders to help judge the people and leadership in terms of the phrase “lamps give light.”

Parashat Naso Haftarah: Names and Blessings

Names and Blessings

Names are important—they tell the world who we are and help us understand ourselves. This Haftarah discusses names and blessings.

Parashat Naso Study Guide: One Day of Glory

Study Guide: One Day of Glory

The study guide for Parashat Naso presents commentaries from Rashi and Hizkuni to explore the building of the Mishkan.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Our parashah describes the laws of the Nazir, one who elects to take a vow of consecration to God for a certain period of time.

Parashat Bamidbar Haftarah: Missing Mothers

Missing Mothers

The haftarah for Parashat Bamidbar is taken from the Book of Hosea and explores the concept of missing mothers.

Parashat Bamidbar Study Guide: How You Say What You Say

Study Guide: How You Say What You Say

This week’s study guide focuses on Ruth, in preparation for Shavuot. Specifically, “How You Say What You Say” explores Ruth and Boaz.

Flags at the Shabbat Table

Flags at the Shabbat Table

In this week’s parashah we learn that the Israelites traveled through the wilderness like a troop of soldiers or a marching band.

Parashat Bechukotai Haftarah: Humanity: The Incurable Illness

Humanity: The Incurable Illness

The haftarah for Bechukotai is from the book of Jeremiah and discusses two words, Eikev and Enosh, and what these words mean.

Parashat Bechukotai Study Guide The Vessel of Blessings

Study Guide: The Vessel of Blessings

The study guide for Bechukotai explores how “peace” is used in this week’s parashah, as well as the commentary surrounding this.

Showered in Blessing

Showered in Blessing

Parashat Bechukotai consists of a litany of blessings and curses that will befall the Jewish people depending on whether or not we obey God.

Parashat Behar Haftarah: Words Don't Reach

Words Don’t Reach

Jeremiah tends to find himself left speechless as he is our prophet through the destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the First Temple.

Parashat Behar Study Guide: For the Land is Mine

Study Guide: For the Land is Mine

The study guide for Behar focuses on the concept of Shmitah, the rest year, and the language used to refer to it.

Given Over to the Heart

Given Over to the Heart

While this week’s parashah mainly focuses on shmitah, this Dvar Torah explores a line in the parashah, focusing on how to treat others.

Parashat Emor Haftarah: Working Behind the Scene

Working Behind the Scene

Our haftarah expands on the parasha, limiting priestly work in the mikdash to only the descendants of Zadok.

Parashat Emor Study Guide: Sticks and Stones?

Study Guide: Sticks and Stones?

This week’s study guide focuses on the curse of a person accused of violence. Discuss blasphemy versus blessing in this context.

Among the Bearded Barley

Among the Bearded Barley

Parshat Emor describes the Omer offering must be brought on the “day after the Sabbath,” the second day of the Passover holiday.

Parashat Kedoshim Haftarah: Perspective

Perspective

Our haftarah starts bold and bloody, and connects the destruction in Amos to the destruction in the story of Noah and the flood.

Parashat Kedoshim Study Guide: Plugging of the Loophole

Study Guide: Plugging of the Loophole

The study guide for Kedoshim synthesizes Rashi, Rashbam, and Ramban to discuss a text from Vayikra about holiness.

How Old is Old?

How Old Is Old?

Public buses in Israel feature a sign that quotes from a verse in this week’s parashah: “You shall rise before the aged” (Leviticus 19:32).

I Need Your Sacrifices After All

I Need Your Sacrifices After All

This week’s parashah contains God’s instructions to Moshe concerning Aaron’s entrance into the Holy of Holies to achieve atonement.

Parashat Acharei Mot Study Guide: Biblical Sartyrs

Study Guide: Biblical Satyrs

This study guide follows the word “se’irim,” meaning sartyrs, through multiple biblical texts, tying this in with Ibn Ezra’s commentary.

Parshat Acharei Mot Haftarah: Fathers

Fathers

This week, we read 1 Samuel 20, the story of Jonathan helping David escape from King Saul, in conjunction with Parashat Achrei Mot.

Parashat Metzora Hafatarh: Zealous Duo

Zealous Duo

This final Shabbat before Pesach, Shabbat HaGadol, our haftarah positions us, juxtaposing Moses with the future coming of Elijah.

Parashat Metzora Study Guide: When Walls Speak

Study Guide: When Walls Speak

The study guide for this week’s parashah, Meztora, discusses the impact that tzaraat has on the physical objects it touches.

One Mouth Per Person

One Mouth Per Person

The dangers of inappropriate speech are connected to the parashah, Metzora, the person stricken with leprosy.

Parashat Tazria Haftarah: Finding a Prince Charming

Finding a Prince Charming

This week’s haftarah, from the book of Ezekiel, discusses the changing power structures and leadership in the changing times of Israel.

Parashat Tazria Study Guide: A Wonder Is Born

Study Guide: A Wonder Is Born

The study guide for Tazria focuses on pregnancy and childbirth and the outcomes of purity versus impurity derived from this.

Far From the Tree

Far From the Tree

Tazria takes its name from conception and childbirth. Ilana Kurshan connects this to bearing fruit, both literally and metaphorically.

Parashat Shmini Haftarah: On Shame

On Shame

Connected Parashat Shemini’s Haftarah, in Ezekiel, Bex Stern Rosenblatt explores the intersection of shame, guilt, and embarrassment.

Parashat Shmini Study Guide: Why Did They Die?

Study Guide: Why Did They Die?

This week’s study guide focuses on Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s sons, bringing “foreign flames” to give an offering to God.

Keeping Our Cool

Keeping Our Cool

When we lash out angrily at others, it is not really we who are speaking, but the evil inclination that takes control of us from within.

Parashat Tzav Haftarah: Unwanted Offerings

Unwanted Offerings

This week’s haftarah explores human sacrifice. While the Tanakh seems to be mixed about it, God may command human sacrifice in this haftarah.

Parashat Tzav Study Guide: A Fraught Appointment

Study Guide: A Fraught Appointment

This week’s study guide focuses on the consecration of Aaron and his sons and Kohanim and what that means.

The Perpetual Flame

The Perpetual Flame

Parashat Tzav teaches us that in those moments when we don’t feel we have anything to offer, we offer nonetheless.

Parashat Vayikra Study Guide: Treachery by Mistake

Study Guide: Treachery by Mistake

This week’s study guide focuses on two words, ma’al and me’ilah, and what it means, both literally and in terms of this week’s parashah.

Parashat Vayikra Moshe, Hillel, and Frederick the Mouse

Moshe, Hillel, and Frederick the Mouse

At start of Leviticus, the Mishkan becomes the domain of Aaron and the priests, who are responsible for the system of sacrificial worship.

Parashat Pekudei Haftarah: The Builder of the Dwelling

The Builder of the Dwelling

God created the world but it was not complete until a home was made for God. These homes come in the forms of the Mishkan and the Temple.

In God's Shadow

In God’s Shadow

Parashat Pekudei describes the construction of the Mishkan in accordance with the specific instructions given by God to Moshe.

Parashat Vayakhel Haftarah Between Enthusiasm and Law

Study Guide: Between Enthusiasm and Law

This week’s study guide explores the building of the Tabernacle. The exploration includes time worked and communal actions completed.

Parashat Vayakhel Study Guide The King's New Clothes

The King’s New Clothes

Jeoash, the king discussed in this week’s haftarah, becomes king at a young age. Does his goodness come from himself or his teachers?

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark

In the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, archeologist Indiana Jones vies to recover the Ark of the Covenant, featured in this week’s parashah.

The Masveh Aliyah: Honor Someone Who Cares

The Masveh Aliyah: Honor Someone Who Cares

On Parashat Ki Tisa, honor someone in your community who embodies empathy and care. The Aliyah also marks the anniversary of the pandemic.

Parashat Ki Tissa Haftarah: Hopping Between Two Branches

Hopping Between Two Branches

This week’s Haftarah parallels the parashah’s discussion on God. The Israelites face more attractive gods but return to God, in the end.

Parashat Ki Tissa Study Guide: A Cosmic National Sign

Study Guide: A Cosmic National Sign

This week’s study guide explores the relationship between God and the Israelites, in the Israelites keeping the Sabbath for God.

The Aromatic Smokescreen

The Aromatic Smokescreen

Our parashah contains the Ten Commandments, as well as instructions for preparing the Ketoret, the incense offered in the Tabernacle.

Study Guide Parashat Pekudei: Clean in the Eyes of God

Study Guide: Clean in the Eyes of God

This week’s study guide discusses details about the building of the mishkan and cleanliness in the context of prayer.

Parashat Tetzaveh Haftarah: Mortality and the Generations

Mortality and the Generations

Ezekiel is rather similar to Moses. Both of them serve God and Israel outside of the land of Israel. This week’s Haftarah explores that.

Parashat Tetzaveh Study Guide: Whose Light Is It?

Study Guide: Whose Light Is It?

This week’s study guide follows the concept of light used in the Mishkan, as compared with the light in the creation of the world.

Nothing But Radish Oil

Nothing But Radish Oil

This week’s parashah opens with God’s instructions to Moshe concerning the oil used for lighting the Menorah in the Mishkan.

Parashat Terumah Haftarah: Love and the Building of the Temple

Love and the Building of the Temple

Building Solomon’s Temple was perhaps the greatest feat ever of Jewish architecture. This week’s haftarah explores this more.

Study Guide: The Royal Table

Study Guide: The Royal Table

This week’s parshah discusses instructions for building accessories for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. This includes a lavish, gold table.

The Furnished Ark

The Furnished Ark

Our parashah describes the creation of the Mishkan, especially the ark, holding the tablets, manna, Aaron’s staff, and oil.

Parashat Mishpatim Haftarah: Freedom

Parashat Mishpatim Haftarah: Freedom

The greatest story of our tradition is a story about freedom. This week’s Haftarah from Jeremiah explores freedom and our choices.

Study Guide: Let Go!

Study Guide: Let Go!

This week’s study guide presents commentary on the shemitah—sabbatical year—and giving to the poor or giving tzedakah.

The Baby in the Brick

The Baby in the Brick

Our parashah describes a puzzling episode, following the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai when elders of Israel envision God.

Can God change

Can God Change?

Can God change? Is the essence of eternity and divinity to never change or to be constantly evolving? Is change a human quality?

Parashat Yitro Haftarah: Stumps and Seeds

Stumps and Seeds

This week’s Haftarah, Isaiah, focuses on the promised destruction and regeneration. Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” depicts that.

Study Guide: Tabula Rasa?

Study Guide: Tabula Rasa?

The study guide for Parashat Yitro discusses the Ten Commandments and the relationships between fathers and children.

Sitting Atop A Sundial

Sitting Atop A Sundial

Our parashah contains the words of the Ten Commandments, which God speaks to Moses and the people of Israel from Mount Sinai.

The Song of Deborah and All That Jazz

Rethinking the Tanakh as a Musical and the Song of Deborah as one of the major musical numbers invites to reflect differently.

Study Guide: Two Ends of a Stick

Moses is instructed to strike the stone as a water source with a rod because the Israelites are thirsty. What else did this rod do?

Make the Bitter Sweet

Make the Bitter Sweet

Just three days after escaping Egypt, the Israelites find themselves in the desert with no water, causing spiritual crises.

Parashat Bo Haftarah: Coming Home

Coming Home

A claim to the land of Israel ranged from a covenant with Abraham to laws to keep the land. This week’s haftarah discusses that.

Parashat Bo Study Guide: Time and the Teller

Study Guide: What Does Telling Time Tell Us About the Teller?

When Moses names a time for the final plague, the death of the first born, he isn’t as specific as we might expect, why?