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Pesach
April 17, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • Tags: notre dame, pesach, seder •
Chag sameach everyone, I hope you all have a freilech, a joyous Seder and Pesach. Even as some of us may be scrubbing corners of cupboards and thinking about menus for the coming week, I have suggested that this is also a time for us to take a spiritual inventory, an opportunity for cleaning out the inner shmutz that […]
Selling Chametz – Information and Form
April 9, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • Tags: form, information, selling chametz •
With thanks to Rabbi Sutker and Rabbi Blane Why sell? Divesting ourselves of chametz, the old food in our pantries, is one of the important rituals of preparing for Pesach/Passover. On the physical level, this ritual offers us an opportunity to clean out our kitchens. Perhaps more importantly, while doing the physical work of cleaning, we have the opportunity […]
Tazria
April 2, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • Tags: tazria •
Tzaraas. Afflictions, in more pustular detail than you had ever imagined! Have you ever gone to a paint store and tried to find the right shade of white – or as Procol Harum sang, a Whiter Shade of Pale? There are many, many shades of white, and concomitantly, many degrees of tzaraas, and places where tzaraas can appear. White, a colour we now often and […]
Shemini
March 27, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk •
Sung in Eichah trop “Aaron was silent” (Lev. 10:3). My sons. I cannot breathe, I cannot speak their names, my heart has no words, just No, I say no, this cannot be; when all that is left of my boys is ashes. Their names folded into that fire- air, flames that sucked breath from their souls. God, you chose me, You dressed me, you have me set aside portions of korbanot to […]
Tzav
March 19, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • 0 Comments
Shalom Aleichem. Tzav – command! The word is a sticky, fricative syllable that in one iteration or another crosses our lips daily as we perform a mitzvah. Reflecting again, back to the final readings in Exodus, the Book of Shemot, we read about the construction of the Sanctuary, the Mishkan– and we read about fire. Fire is an element that follows us throughout Torah: God appeared to […]
Vayikra or Postcard from the Wilderness
March 11, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • Tags: vayikra • 0 Comments
Many of our teachings in Torah were and are revolutionary – in every way from economic to social. In the book of Exodus, of Shemot we were called to remember and keep Shabbat. Let’s try and think for a few minutes about how utterly revolutionary that command was and still is: Stop working. Do not engage in any manner of […]
Pekudei – Rock, Paper, Scissors
March 5, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • 0 Comments
We open up Pekudei and read: אֵ֣לֶּה פְקוּדֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ מִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר פֻּקַּ֖ד עַל־פִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה עֲבֹדַת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם בְּיַד֙ אִֽיתָמָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ “These are the “accounts”, the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding—the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.” We begin with a financial accounting. Pekudei is the final […]
Acharei Mot
April 30, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk • Tags: Acharei Mot •
Shalom Aleichem Acharei Mot. This is a complicated sidra especially for the LGBTQ community. Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination,” is often used as an example of how Torah can be used and abused as a religious smorgasbord – what to choose to observe […]