Rabbi Dorothy Richman
Ki Tavo
There is a striking scene imagined in Parashat Ki Tavo: Upon crossing the Jordan, the twelve tribes of Israel will divide into two groups. Six tribes will stand on a southern mountain facing the other six tribes on a northern mountain. The Levites will then scream a catalogue of twelve sins, each beginning with the phrase “Cursed be the one.” After each articulated sin, the other eleven tribes call out: “Amen!”
Read MoreBo
This week’s Dvar Tzedek was originally published in 2008. At the Passover seder, we narrate the story of our slavery as a real-time autobiography, as if we are, at that moment, experiencing the Exodus from Egypt. Eating bitter herbs and crunching matzah, we identify with our Israelite ancestors, a nation of slaves on the other …
Read MoreKedoshim
One afternoon during an Introduction to Jewish Philosophy class, my professor posed the following question: If you are walking by a swimming pool, and you see someone drowning, what is your obligation to intervene? Must you dive in? Call for help? Throw her a line? According to American law, there is no legal obligation to …
Read MoreKi Tavo
There is a striking scene imagined in Parshat Ki Tavo: Upon crossing the Jordan, the twelve tribes of Israel will divide into two groups. Six tribes will stand on a southern mountain facing the other six tribes on a northern mountain. The Levites will then scream a catalogue of twelve sins, each beginning with the …
Read MoreVa’etchanan
You who live secureIn your warm housesWho return at evening to findHot food and friendly faces: Consider whether this is a man,Who labors in the mudWho knows no peaceWho fights for a crust of breadWho dies at a yes or a no. Consider whether this is a woman,Without hair or nameWith no more strength to …
Read MoreRe’eh
“When your brother, Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall set him free.”[1] It disappoints me every year. Approaching the edge of the Promised Land in Parshat Re’eh, Moses outlines the possibilities and responsibilities for impending self-rule and national freedom. Inside …
Read MoreMasei
Parshat Masei, the portion of journeys, begins with a recounting of the Israelites’ travels from slavery in Egypt to the borders of Israel. Yet within this re-telling of the Israelites’ trek comes a different journey: the path of a manslayer into exile. An entire chapter of the parshah addresses the process by which an unintentional …
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