Weekly Torah Lesson Parasha: Kitisa – When you lift up the head Torah: Shemot 30:11 – 34:35 B’laam and The Blood 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no idol, for Avinu, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous Avinu), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, … [Read more...] about B’laam and The Blood
The New Creation – Avinu in Man
Weekly Torah Lesson: The New Creation - Avinu in Man Parasha: tetsaveh you commandTora: Shemot 27:20 – 30:10 “45 “I will dwell among (within) the children of Israel and will be their Avinu. 46 “And they shall know that I am Avinu Elohekem, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among (within) them. I am Avinu Elohekem.” (Ex 29:45-46 ) “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among (within) them.” (Ex 25:8 ) ** These Scriptures are used by … [Read more...] about The New Creation – Avinu in Man
The Outer Altar
Weekly Torah Lesson Parasha: Teruma – Elevate / lift up Torah: Shemot 25:1 – 27:19 A “teruma” is a higher level of giving because the amount of what is given is freely determined by the giver as compared to the strict requirements of other offerings. The Lesson of The Outer Altar 27:1 And you shall make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make the … [Read more...] about The Outer Altar
Rosh Chodesh
At sundown, the end of Tuesday, 2/5/19, the month of Sh’vat comes to its end and Rosh Chodesh Adar 1 begins. Rosh Chodesh is not a prescribed monthly Shabbat but it is commanded to be “observed”. In 1Samuel 20, we see that particular Rosh Chodesh was being observed for two days . Some use this recorded biblical event as proof that the current calendar based method of determining the arrival of Rosh Chodesh today was in use earlier than the construction of the first Temple. This two day … [Read more...] about Rosh Chodesh
Beyond the Letter
Weekly Torah Lesson Parasha: Mishpatim - judgmentsTorah: Shemot 21:1 – 24:18 This Parasha contains thirty negative and twenty three positive of the 613 mitzvot found in the Torah. Ex 20:1 “..These are the words…” Ex 21:1 “And these are the judgments..that you shall set before..” v’elle (and these) connect this week’s parsha with chapter 20. The vast majority of the six hundred and thirteen “mitzvoth” (instructions) are defined by one of these three types. This … [Read more...] about Beyond the Letter
Choosing Leaders
Weekly Torah Lesson Parasha: Yitro Torah: Shemot 18:1 – 20:26 Shemot 18 appears to be out of chronological order. Some place it after 11 Tishrei 2449which is after Moshe returns from his third , forty day, meeting with Avinu on Mount Sinai. This would put it near Shemot 35. However, whether it fits better as chapter 18 or 35 isn’t relevant for what I want to discuss. Today, we are going to focus on the type of men who were chosen to teach the people and how these attributes roll over … [Read more...] about Choosing Leaders