Moses is running out of time… and he knows it. The Children of Israel have arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, and are preparing to launch their campaign of conquest into the Promised Land. Moses, however, is barred from entry. God has decreed that Moses will ascend a nearby mountain, gaze out at the land, even watch his flock enter, and then die right there. At the start of this week’s portion, Moses makes one last-ditch effort to change God’s Mind: “I pleaded with God

When the Torah repeats itself, we listen. A central principle of rabbinic interpretation teaches us that our Biblical text doesn’t waste words. When stories are reiterated or principles restated (sometimes over and over…), there’s a reason for it, and it is our job as good exegetes (Biblical interpreters) to figure out what’s going on. This week, we’re examining just a single word, repeated without explanation. Why? In Deuteronomy, 16:20, Moses instructs the Children of Israe

This weekend, we are starting the Fifth Book of the Torah, called Devarim or Deuteronomy. In addition, this particular Shabbat - the one that precedes Tisha b’Av (the saddest day on the Jewish calendar) every year - has a second name: Shabbat Chazon. The name - Chazon - comes from Isaiah's "vision" of the imminent destruction of the city of Jerusalem. Shabbat Chazon always precedes Tisha b'Av, when we commemorate the destruction of both Ancient Temples (in 587 BCE and 70 CE),

It’s time for some road-trippin’, everyone! A summer staple, no? Well, in this case I’m really talking about our Torah reading. A good part of our parashah is essentially a recap list of all the rest-stops along the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the desert. Almost an entire chapter chronicles the following: 'They set out from Libnah and encamped at Rissah. They set out from Rissah and encamped at Kehelat. They set out from Kehelat and encamped at Mount Shepher...' (Num

The Torah likes to repeat itself. Personally, I don’t like to repeat myself, but the Torah does indeed like to repeat itself. It feels tedious, doesn’t it? If we heard it once, why do we need to hear it again (and again and again)? We could just dismiss this phenomenon as sloppy editing, but our ancient rabbis taught us instead to pause and ask questions. A guiding principle of Biblical exposition, also called exegesis, is that nothing is superfluous. If something appears ex

Right now, I am in the middle of a four-week presentation series on the Biblical prophets, which I am giving at a nearby retirement community. One of the things I started with, when introducing the institution of prophecy, was pointing out that leadership in Ancient Israel was really divided into three parts: 1) The King, who was the political and military head of the nation. 2) The High Priest, who was the religious and ritual leader. And 3) The Prophet, who focused on socia

Right now (and seemingly always…), our world is plagued by political tensions, environmental disasters, war, religious battles and scandals, and a general sense of uncertainty and chaos. How do we keep going in troubled times? How do we replenish, where do we go for support and nourishment, and how do we soldier on in spite of all the obstacles? The Torah offers us some suggestions and advice, but it’s not always obvious to see… and certainly not easy to do! Our parashah this

Services at 9:30 a.m. Presentation to Follow Congregation Beth El in Edison is hosting a talk, open to the public, entitled: Engaging our Holocaust Torah Scrolls Through Art and Community - A Presentation by Rabbi Jeremy Gerber & Artist Siona Benjamin Across North America, many synagogues hold Torah scrolls rescued from destroyed Jewish communities in Europe. These sacred scrolls are often preserved with reverence — yet often remain silent behind glass. What if those scrolls

Most weekends, we get just one Torah portion, but several times throughout the year, we actually read two of them back-to-back. That is, in fact, the case this Shabbat, where we combine the parshiot of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Acharei Mot literally means “After the death(s),” and talks about laws and rituals given after two of Aaron’s sons are killed for angering God. Kedoshim means “holy,” and gives us a long series of mitzvot, commandments, that lead to sacred behavior. Wh

Our Torah portion this week is an awkward one. It's arguably the weirdest, most uncomfortable one all year long. It talks about skin diseases, mold, discharges, and all manner of not-fit-for-Kiddush-luncheon conversation topics. So maybe we should just skip it? Though doing so would prevent us from asking the important question: why does the Torah want to talk about all of this in the first place? What if I said that perhaps this parashah is actually the most “real” of them

Passover is upon us, so it’s time to break out the ol’ wine-stained, well-used Haggadot - the books that guide the Passover Seder - and once again brush up on the Four Questions and the Ten Plagues. Most of us recite the same sections of the Seder every year, spending more time on our favorite parts and skipping the dull ones. I did, however, want to bring your attention to a page that almost certainly never gets a lot of play, but which may feel especially relevant this year

This week moves us into the third Book of the Torah, named Leviticus or Vayikra. Almost exclusively, the book is about priestly garb and behavior, ritual purity and impurity, kosher animals, and maybe most of all, sacrifice. What mental images are conjured up for you when you hear "biblical sacrifice"? Maybe knives, blood, mysterious rituals, animals bleating and thrashing? That may be what most of us picture, even though it is true that sacrifices could also be offered as m

If I asked you to name the most famous people in the Bible, I think it’s fair to assume that you wouldn’t include Betzalel or his assistant, Oholiav on your list. Perhaps you’ve never even heard of them until just now. Nevertheless, they are both actually quite significant, as God selects them - by name - to build the Tabernacle during the Exodus. How skilled a builder must he have been for God to single out Betzalel from among all the Israelites? The Tabernacle housed the 10

It is hard to take responsibility sometimes, and it’s perhaps even harder to apologize. We know it’s important… but it’s uncomfortable and unpleasant. We like to say, “I’m sorry IF…” by which we take a step back from full responsibility. Or we try to explain away or justify our behavior, which also side-steps culpability. The Torah demonstrates that we’re not the only ones struggling with this. Our Torah portion this week, Ki Tisa, shows someone trying desperately to shift bl

Purim is the holiday of merriment, dress-up, silliness, and even perhaps a little alcohol-buzz to loosen things up even further. It’s not even just the holiday itself; the whole month around it is affected, as the rabbis tell us, “Mishe-nichnas Adar Marbim b’Simchah” - “As soon as you enter [the month of] Adar, increase your happiness.” The book that we read for the holiday fits perfectly in with this theme, because the Scroll of Esther is truly a comedic text. People don’t a

We all have short attention spans. I get it. Less very often can indeed be more. I'd like to offer just a single, quick insight from our Biblical texts, so you can connect to our ancient heritage each and every week. Just a morsel of Torah! So even though every weekly Torah portion is multiple chapters long, I am going to endeavor to pick just one idea in each parashah , and share a short idea or concept that I hope will be meaningful and worth your time. So we're still goin