When We Seek God as a Partner
In Parashat Sh’mini we read of the death of Aaron’s sons who offered “alien fire” to God and were consumed. While commentators throughout the ages have tried to make sense of this tragedy, the text also guides us to appreciate the power of the choices we make.
B'chukotai for Tweens
How do we achieve lives full of blessing? Discuss this portion with the tweens in your life.
Fateful Words Can Have Fatal Consequences
The Jewish people's turbulent saga of disillusionment with liberation takes a new and momentarily promising turn this Shabbat, with a foray into the land of Canaan by twelve scouts.
Yom Rishon shel Rosh HaShanah for Tweens
Do you know about the binding of Isaac? Find out more in this edition of Torah for Tweens.
On Passover, Hope Springs Eternal
Only in Israel are there kosher-for-Passover buns at McDonald's. Only in Israel do non-Kosher restaurants offer you a choice of bread and/or matzah.
Between Winds of Fear and the Gift of Rains
The last parashah of the Book of Leviticus offers a kind of coda to this Torat Kohanim, " Torah of the priests." One might say that it draws to an inauspicious close, very different from the other books of our Bible.
Just Like Me, They Long(ed) to Be Close to You
In this week's double parashah, Acharei Mot/K'doshim, there's a one-sentence reference to the mortal sin of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who brought "alien fire" into the Mishkan, which we read about in Parashat Sh'mini two weeks ago (see Leviticus 10:1-7).
Tearing a Hole in Being
At the end of Parashat Emor, a disturbing incident is related. In the heat of a fight, a man curses God and is stoned to death for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:10-23). It is understandable that readers may be repulsed by this narrative, and shocked and angry to find it in the Torah.