Inspirational Torah

Holy Cow!  It's Shabbat Parah! Ridding Ourselves of Useless Guilt Parshiot: Shemot,  Vayakhel/Pekudei Maftir: (Bamidbar/Numbers 19 (1-22) Haftarah: Ezekiel 36 (16-38) (16-36 for Sefardim) Do you suffer from pangs of guilt or shame? Do even really old memories bog you down and leave you feeling guilty or ashamed? What can you do about it? First, we all need to realize that nursing our "regrets" and being stuck in a place of guilt or shame stands in our way of serving our holy purpose in this world and that untreated guilt or shame continually works to extinguish the holy spark in our neshama (soul). You probably think that Rabbi Yonatan forgot what time of year this is, sounds like a homily for Yom Kippur! But don't forget that according to the Torah, the first month of the year (Rosh Hashanah) is only about a week away! It is what we now call the Hebrew month of Nissan, the month of Passover, the month of Spring (in Israel) and a time of new beginn...

Leaders Are Made, Not Born!  Parashat Ki Tissa 16 Adar 5778 פרשת כי תשא ט"ז אדר תשע"ח Exodus 30:11-34:35 Haftara (Prophets) 1 Kings 18:1-39 "A leader takes people where  they   want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." — Rosalynn Carter What makes a great leader and what is good leadership? We look to the Torah for role models. In this week's parashah, Ki Tissa, we read the account of the g rave   sin of the Israelites: the casting of the Golden Calf. This incident raises many questions, but the one I wish to raise is a question of leadership. Who is the true shepherd of the People? What positive and negative leadership traits do we find in Moses and Aaron? How do these qualities inform the decisions they made as leaders? We generally speak about and attribute the terrible sin of the Golden Calf to the Israelite People. But when a society Adoring the Golden Calf   -  Raphael...

Remembering to Forget?! Shabbat Zachor/Tetzaveh  Exodus 27:20-30:10 Maftir (End Ki Tetze) Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Haftarat Zachor: 1 Samuel 15:2-34 "I have a terrible memory. I never forget a thing."  - Edith Konecky Jewish American Novelist This coming Shabbat is Shabbat Zachor.  שבת זכור  Shabbat Zachor   (Sabbath of Remembrance) is the Sabbath immediately preceding the holiday of  Purim . We read Devarim  25:17-19 (the end of Parasha Ki Teizei), describing the attack on the Israelites by the nation of Amalek. The short reading paradoxically commands us to both remember and forget what Amalek did to us when they attacked us in the wilderness ! Primary Text: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt--how, undeterred by the fear of God... He ...