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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 …Read More
Read More