Weekly D'var

PARSHAT NASSO
Ed Millunchick

If you were going to choose a metaphor to describe the Holy of Holies, what would you choose?

Something like a throne room, perhaps? Maybe the eye of a hurricane?

One certainly wouldn’t choose in the first instance to compare the holiest place on earth to a … bedroom....Read more...

PARSHAT BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI
Cara Gutstein

This week’s double parsha, Behar-Bechukotai, is bursting with content. It is here that we get the laws for Shmita/the Sabbatical year and Yovel/the Jubilee year. We also read specifics on land valuation, release from servitude, gifts to the Temple of animals and land. But central to the parsha are the vivid descriptions of the life the people can expect if they follow God’s...Read more...

Rabbi Sacks Legacy: Covenant and Conversation

We are pleased to share the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l from his weekly Covenant and Conversation series. Parashat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim: Love Is Not Enough.

Rabbi Sacks Legacy: Covenant and Conversation

We are pleased to share the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l from his weekly Covenant and Conversation series. Please click here to read Parashat Tzav: Why Civilisations Die.

Drash Passover
Jorde Nathan

Now is the part of the service … the SHABBAT SERVICE… where in every shul across the world someone comes up and takes about ….. the parashat. Wonder why?  We have the entire week to learn the parashat and only one day for Shabbat.  But on Shabbat we commonly discuss the parashat.  I wonder why.  Why not use the time on Shabbat to learn about shabbat? ...Read more...

Rabbi Sacks Legacy: Covenant and Conversation

We are pleased to share the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l from his weekly Covenant and Conversation series. Please click here to read Parashat Vayakhel: Mirrors of Love.

Rabbi Sacks Legacy: Covenant and Conversation

We are pleased to share the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l from his weekly Covenant and Conversation series. Please click here to read Parashat Tetzaveh: The Aesthetic of Holiness.

Mishpatim
Teddy Gutstein
February 22, 2025

Shabbat Shalom, it is good to be back up here. 

In Parshat Mishpatim we encounter so many laws. The first five aliyot consist of God speaking these laws to Moshe—laws covering all sorts of situations. Some are notable, such as those concerning capital punishment. A person could be sentenced to death for murder, striking their parents,...Read more...

Rabbi Sacks Legacy: Covenant and Conversation

We are pleased to share the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l from his weekly Covenant and Conversation series. Please click here to read Parashat Yitro: Deed and Creed.

VA’EIRA
Josh Gutstein
January 25, 2025

At the start of this week’s Parsha, we find a non-confident, doubting Moshe. It reminds me of a quote from Dolly Parton. I bet this is the first time many of you have heard Dolly Parton and Moshe Rabeinu in the same sentence. You see, Dolly Parton once said, “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” I love the sentiment, but finding out who you are is easier...Read more...

Parashat Vayechi
Jorde Nathan
January 2025

I offer these words in the zechut of four important shul principles.  In no particular order they are:

Kavod l’Shabbat
Kavod l’Grandparents
Louder
Shorter

With appropriate sanctity and respect for shabbat, I attempt to honor the other three principles.

Yaakov is on his deathbed in Mitzrayim and is...Read more...

Links to D'vrei Torah and essays offered in 2024.

12/30/24: 11 Iconic Christmas Songs that Were Written by Jews (Kveller.com)
12/16-23/24: The Oldest Torah
12/9/24: Va’Yetze
12/2/24: Chanukah FAQs
11/25/24: Chanukah, Judith, and Cheese
11/16/24: Vayeira: Why was Avraham Silent?
11/11/24: Noachide Laws 2: Covenants
11/03/24: Noachide Laws, 2024
10/26/24: Bereshit
10/14-21/24: Remnants of...Read more...