Much of the double portion of Tazria-Metzora deals with the laws governing tzara’at, an enigmatic affliction which takes the form of a skin disease in people, but which can also afflict clothing and houses. Due to its symptoms of skin discoloration and the requirement that the victim be quarantined, tzara’at has often been mistakenly identified …
Read MoreMuch of the double portion of Tazria-Metzora deals with the laws governing tzara’at, an enigmatic affliction which takes the form of a skin disease in people, but which can also afflict clothing and houses. Due to its symptoms of skin discoloration and the requirement that the victim be quarantined, tzara’at has often been mistakenly identified …
Read MoreIn the double portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei we read a detailed recounting of the establishment of the Mishkan and the materials used in its construction. Allaying any suspicion of corruption, Moses and his workers display a model of leadership and accountability in handling the resources of Bnei Yisrael that leaders of the world’s nations today would …
Read MoreIn the double portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei we read a detailed recounting of the establishment of the Mishkan and the materials used in its construction. Allaying any suspicion of corruption, Moses and his workers display a model of leadership and accountability in handling the resources of Bnei Yisrael that leaders of the world’s nations today would …
Read MoreIn Parshat Terumah, Moses receives instructions for the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle wherein God’s presence will dwell amongst the Jewish people. The Mishkan does not provide for any obvious material need, nor is it a victory monument or a wonder of the world intended to evoke pride or inspiration. Rather, the Mishkan establishes …
Read MoreIn Parshat Vayechi, we find a fascinating examination of complex relations amid a family struggling to move beyond the sins of the past. Much has changed since the traumatic incident decades earlier, when Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him, eventually selling him into slavery. Now, after Jacob’s death, and with Joseph occupying a position of …
Read MoreAt the beginning of Parshat Vayezte, we encounter Jacob on the run from Esau, having tricked his brother out of the birthright. As night falls, Jacob rests for the night and has a startling prophetic dream involving angels ascending and descending a ladder between earth and heaven. During the dream God makes a number of …
Read MoreIn Parshat Noach God destroys all of humanity, save for Noach and his family, in a great flood. The text provides us with a reason for God’s wrath—va’timale ha’aretz chamas,[1] —that the earth was filled with violence. A simple reading may bring to mind a brutish anarchic existence, in which people fight, steal and destroy …
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