¿Por Qué Nos Ponemos Tzitzit?
¿Por qué nos ponemos tzitzit? וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֘ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְיָ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם Y os servirá de franja, para que cuando lo veáis os acordéis de todos los mandamientos de Jehová, para ponerlos por obra; y no miréis en pos de vuestro corazón y de […]
Amar a Leah
Tendemos a clasificar muchos de los conflictos familiares de Génesis bajo la rúbrica de la rivalidad entre los hermanos. El término se ha hecho una frase con la que nos sentimos cómodos, un paquete compacto que describe un fenómeno doloroso. Conjura un imágen de una batalla, no con armas, ni letal, sino más un ritual. […]
The Tzitzit Test
Why do we wear Tzitzit? וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֘ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְיָ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם It shall be for you a fringe, and when you see it, you shall remember all the of God’s Mitzvot and you will perform them, and you will not detour, led by […]
Home, Temple, Heaven – Tetzave
For Parashat Tetzave Mishkan Sweet Mishkan What can the Mishkan be analogized to? When I present this question at a class, the first, intuitive answer, is that the Mishkan resembles a home, and the second, which comes after a minute of contemplation, is the Garden of Eden. Like a home, the Mishkan has a table, […]
Give Earth a Break
גאולה תתנו לארץ The term Tree Hugger is not usually associated with observant Jews, which is truly hurtful and unfair, because we hug a tree at least four times a week. We do it, religiously, on Mondays and Thursdays, Shabbat mornings and afternoons. We gather around our tree, touch it, kiss it and then sit […]
Dvar Torah for Phinehas
Who was Phineas, after whom our Parasha is named? He was the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, who took action when everyone else was paralyzed with disbelief and confusion. At the end of the previous Parasha we read of Zimri, the Israelite man who brought a Midianite woman with him to the Tabernacle. While […]
Restoring Leadership
The Derekh. It is very important to be on it. If, God forbid, someone is off it, his parents will be the talk of town. Not, God forbid, publicly. Behind closed doors, by the (kosher) water cooler, in hushed conversations during the Torah reading in shul: “have you heard? So and so’s (son; daughter; the […]
The Torah’s Disability Act
אִ֣ישׁ… אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם, לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהָֽיו – This statement of the Torah, that a man who is not physically wholesome is not allowed to serve at the temple and offer sacrifices, has always been for me a pet peeve, and the attempts of the commentators to explain it did not help […]
Wrestling a Piece of Canaan
The Burial of Sara [23:1] Sara lived a hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years. The repetition of the word “years” was interpreted by the Midrash as alluding to special quality traits of Sara. However, the same formula is used regarding Avraham (25:7), and Ishmael (25:17). It would have probably been used for Yitzhak […]
Be Unique – For I Am!
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: You shall be holy; for I YHWH your God, am holy. The word קדוש is traditionally translated as holy. The more meticulous commentators explain that קדוש means separate, designated, […]