Weekly Torah Reading, Emor, May 6, 2023

Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Redivide the Verse   The possibility has always struck me that our ancient sages (heresy spoiler!) may have made a mistake in the way they divided up the verses in one crucial passage of the Torah. As is …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, April 29, 2023

Leviticus 16:1 to 20:27 Like Yourself   No doubt the most famous verse in this week’s double reading, Aḥarei Mot-Kedoshim, is Lev 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor like yourself.” Rabbi Akiva declared that this verse is nothing less than …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Tazri‘a-Metzora‘, April 22, 2023

April 22, 2023   The Anesthetized Rib This week’s double reading (Tazria’-Metzora‘) opens with an unusual law: “When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she will be ritually impure for seven days; just as with the …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Shemini, April 15, 2023

Leviticus 9:1-11:47   After the Crisis   After the crisis, people weren’t sure what had caused it, and they didn’t know what to do next. After the crisis, some people weren’t even sure there had been a crisis. It’s always …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Shabbat ha-Gadol, April 5, 2023

Haggadah Tips In four different passages of the Torah, Jewish parents are commanded to tell their children about the exodus from Egypt ((Exodus chap. 12:26-27, 13:8, 13:14, and Deuteronomy 6:20-21). We fulfill this commandment next Wednesday night by reading the …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyakhel-Pekudei, March 18, 2023

Exodus 35:1-40:38 The Message in Repetition   In general, rabbinic interpreters (and some of their predecessors) shied away from acknowledging repetition in the biblical text. “Every word counts” meant that no verse, or even some part of a verse, could …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Ki Tissa, March 11, 2023

Exodus 30:11-35:1   Hur Explained   Moses was on Mt. Sinai for forty days and forty nights, during which time God revealed to him the various laws and regulations to be included in the Torah. But as this period dragged …

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Weekly Torah Reading, Book of Esther, Purim and Shushan Purim, March 7-8, 2023

  When Kings Go Bad   It’s easy to identify the Persian king’s problem: he’s an alcoholic.    When we first see him he is presiding over a huge banquet celebrating the third year of his ascension to the throne. …

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