Torah Musings
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As the first night of Hanukkah rapidly approaches, I have been thinking a lot this year about the meaning of darkness. We spend so much time chasing the light. I have typically experienced winter as drudgery and look forward to springtime and lengthening days. But this year the darkness has been beckoning to me- and…
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To stand for human dignity means not only insisting on the right to basic survival needs, but the right to live fully — to experience joy, pleasure, love, friendship, beauty.
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In looking closely at Rebecca’s question, the Torah invites us to ask: what does it mean to be a human being who struggles, and what sustains us in these moments of difficulty?
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Yitzhak needs to be seen – by God and by other people – as more than just as the means by which Avraham’s faith is tested.
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Parashat Vayera 5783 From the very outset of this week’s parasha, vision and and seeing are important themes. We meet Avraham at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day, where God appears to him –vayera elav. In the following verse we read: Vayisa et einav va-ya’ar v’hineh shlosah anashim nitzavim alav.…
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Yizkor, Yom Kippur 5783 / October 5, 2022 I recently learned about a traditional practice of Ashkenazi Jewish women – making soul candles. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, women in Eastern Europe would make candles. Each community had its own practice -sometimes the candles were made for use at home. Other times, they were…
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Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur 5783 / October 4, 2022 Since the start of the pandemic, like many people, I have spent a lot more time at home. Pandemic. One of the things that I have found joy in is the opportunity this affords for fashion experimentation. Since I know that no one is going to…
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Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 5783/ September 26, 2022 For as long as I can remember, I have always been a crafter. As soon as I could hold a crayon, I started drawing and creating. There was always a craft project in the works in my home growing up. The joy of making something with my…
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I haven’t been active in posting to this site much recently. I often have the idea of editing or expanding on a d’var Torah I give on Shabbat, but I often lose motivation to edit or write things down in a way to make them fit for print. There is also something different about the…
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גרשתי מלבי את כל המלים כי פנה יום – ואמי נרדמה ואמי תישן עד בוא המשיח I have banished from my heart all words, For the day is turning And my mother will slumber- And my mother will sleep until the messiah comes. – Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky What can we say in the face of…
