Enthusiastic and Committed Judaism

Enthusiastic and Committed Judaism

Mar 19, 2014 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Shemini

When my husband and I named our first son Nadav, we knew that we would have some explaining to do.

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Purim Reversals

Purim Reversals

Mar 11, 2014 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Purim

A few months after college graduation, I arrived in Israel as an eager new yeshiva student.

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The Fire Within

The Fire Within

Mar 11, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav

Parashat Tzav discusses the role of the priests in the Temple, and emphasizes the vigilance with which they were to offer sacrifices.

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Offerings As Devotion and Redemption

Offerings As Devotion and Redemption

Feb 25, 2014 By Stephen A. Geller | Commentary | Pekudei

Parashat Pekudei ends with a tremendous scene, one of the highlights of the Bible: the divine Glory, the kavod, comes down from heaven and settles into the newly completed Tabernacle so that Moses cannot enter it.

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Vayikra—Lean Out

Vayikra—Lean Out

Feb 24, 2014 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Vayikra

This week we begin reading the middle book of the Five Books of Moses, Leviticus. Its position in the Torah scroll is not just coincidental; the laws of Leviticus are central to the earliest rabbis’ understanding of Judaism.

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Arts and Crafts: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tissa

Arts and Crafts: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tissa

Feb 11, 2014 By Alan Cooper | Commentary | Ki Tissa

There are aspects of the Bible’s account of the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness that seem incredible; so much so that early critical commentators tended to reject its historical accuracy out of hand.

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Terumah – The Gift That Elevates

Terumah – The Gift That Elevates

Jan 29, 2014 By Eitan Fishbane | Commentary | Terumah

Sometimes we all feel like we’re giving more than we get, that we do more than our share, or that our individual needs are being sacrificed for the sake of someone else’s happiness.

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Defining a Moral and Just Society

Defining a Moral and Just Society

Jan 22, 2014 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Mishpatim

Sometimes an article in the newspaper reminds you of something in the Torah and makes you think in new ways about verses you have read many times before.

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