Parshat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) lists work assignments for the Levite families. In great detail. If we are reading the Torah…
Category: Torah
Utopian Compromise
Utopia. Dystopia. Somewhere in between lies: Reality.That’s the message of this week’s Torah portion Behar-Bechukotai. Torah dreams: An ideal society…
Shadow of Grief
Parshat Emor* sets out extreme purity rules for priests (cohanim). Each cohen must be physically perfect and emotionally stoic. As my…
Blaming the Victim
Last night, I saw it again. A familiar psoriasis lesion. Just below my ankle. Every winter, it grows in the…
Radical Vegetarian Priests
You could say it’s a downer month in the yearly cycle of Torah readings. Week after week of animal sacrifices.…
No Finish Line
On Sunday morning, I dream. A package is delivered. My housemates and I unwrap it carefully. Inside is a tightly…
Limits of Rationalism (Vayikra)
God tells Moshe: people will bring offerings: cattle, goats, sheep, birds, grain. Make sure Aaron and his crew know how…
I Asked for Wonder
Imagination, wonder, amazement. Attitudes that add zest to our lives — and train us in spiritual sight and insight. How can…
Simply a Sanctuary
Please, no, not another recounting of the details of the mishkan (sanctuary)! My eyes will glaze, my brain will freeze,…