Thoughts

Ki Teitzei, 5784

Ki Teitzei, 5784

Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19Isaiah 54:1-10 Devarim Chapter 23, verses 13 and 14 tell us: “And you shall have a designated place outside the camp, so that you can go out there [to use it as a privy]. And you shall keep a stake in addition to your gear; and it shall be,...

read more
Korach, 5784

Korach, 5784

Numbers 16:1-18:32Samuel 11:14-12:22 There’s a lot to glean from this parshah. I think of the spies, which I have a lot to say about. Maybe I can get in early for next year. And how the going against Moses and G-d can relate to this. I think of Pinchas at the end of...

read more
Behar, 5784

Behar, 5784

Behar, 5784Leviticus 25:1-26:2 I spoke about Behar in 2015. The topic I focused on was the commandment not to sell land beyond what could be reclaimed. In that drash I spoke about the Rosemont Mine and Lake Mead. About how the mine had been promised to use less water...

read more
Shemini 5784

Shemini 5784

SheminiLeviticus 9:1-11:47Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 Who wants to hear another drash about strange fire? I sure don’t feel like giving one. So let’s talk about something else instead. Being raised by a parrothead, I often look at life through the late Jimmy Buffett’s lyrics....

read more
5784, Terumah

5784, Terumah

Exodus 25:1-27:19  Here we have another parsha that is less narrative and more instruction. And I like that. Just as we have four children and different answers for them during the Passover seder, we have different narrative styles for different people and different...

read more
5784, Vaera

5784, Vaera

Exodus 6:2-9:35 There’s much I can say to this parasha. The idea of escaping the corruption of the city for wilderness especially speaks to me. But today I want to focus on something else. We learned last week that Pharaoh intentionally made the Israelites’ work more...

read more