Ki Tavo: “And it shall be that when you come into the land which the Ever-Present-One your God is giving you as a heritage and you possess and settle in it, you shall take some of the first fruit…” In the Torah, that act of gratitude is coupled with specific words for the pilgrim, words that we echo in the telling of…

Shof’tim: “And judges and police you shall place in your gates,” so our parashah begins. But why? Evolutionary psychology explains that we are bred for altruism to enable survival as a group and yet simultaneously, we have a strong impulse to put our own needs first. Sadly, exaggerated fears, greed, and selfishness create disorder and suffering. Rabbi Hananiah, the Deputy High Priest of first century…

Eikev: I feel sad for Ryan Lochte. He achieved so much as an Olympic swimmer. One lie and he lost his endorsements; one act of misbehavior and the rewards of years of focused effort were forfeited. Our parashah this week, Eikev, begins with the word “if”, which is repeated including the paragraph that will find a place in the Shema: If you follow my commandments…

Torah: Ve’Ethanan: Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell explains his new podcast, “You think with your eyes; your feel with your ears.  Complex ideas are conveyed in writing; tears may flow from what you hear.” In this week’s Torah, we read: “Hear O’ Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one”  (Deuteronomy 6:4). The core concept of Judaism is that there is only…

Torah: Devarim- Moses begged off at the Burning Bush as lacking a facility for speech. In this the fifth book of the Five Books of Moses, Moses speaks and speaks. His orations are composed of three major addresses, a closing song, and farewell blessings. The rabbis, who are teachers, give Moses their highest accolade by calling him, Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our teacher.…

Torah: Matot-Masei- “Like a sword in my bones are the taunts of my adversaries, by saying to me all the day, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:11). My friend, Len Saxe, recently pointed out that this verse from Psalms is the rebuttal to the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” In the Jewish tradition…

Torah: Women challenge the status quo in this week’s Torah reading of Pinchas. At Mount Sinai, Moses learns the laws of inheritance: sons will receive the tribal land of a deceased father. A problem arises. Zelophachad has died with no sons. His five daughters plead to Moses, “Why should our father’s name be disadvantaged in his family merely because he did not…

Torah: Moab’s King Balak commissions a prophet for profit, Bilaam, to curse the Israelites. Bilaam agrees, but emphasizes that his words come from God” (Numbers 22:18). Four times, when Bilaam’s words flow from his vantage point of the hills overlooking the encamped Israelites, blessings emerge. Among the most famous of those words are the mah tovu, “How goodly are your tents O’ Jacob, your…