Blog Layouts
B’har
Shalom Aleichem. God owns the Land – God is our landowner and property owner, and in B’har, God is teaching us basic land husbandry. The Israelite people could work the fields for six years, but in the seventh year, the land was to have a Sabbath of complete rest. Dever notes, “The people could work the […]
Emor
Recently I attended a workshop on the Jewish soul, led by one of our esteemed congregants, Dr. Elior Kinarthy. After Elior provided descriptions of the reality of the soul, he invited us into a guided meditation, a visualization of our soul. My role was primarily that of time-keeper, but I joined the group as we […]
Kedoshim
Shalom Aleichem Kedoshim is a sidra dense with instructions about how to bring holiness into our lives –to bring ourselves closer to the Divine. These mitzvot are also, dare I say, designed to create an envelope of trust, for what could be closer to holiness than trust?
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 […]
Pesach
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
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
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
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
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 […]
Bechukotai
May 26, 2019 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: Bechukotai •
Shalom Aleichem. What gives our lives meaning and purpose? Do you get up in the morning and look at your day planner – electronic or handwritten or printed? Do you look at today’s appointments within the larger context of the week – or even a month? Do you make grocery lists? Or, do you wake […]