Traditional Jews observe the dietary laws derived mostly from today’s Parsha, Shemini. Thousands of years before the 19th century saying, “You are what you eat” came into being, Judaism recognized the essential significance of food in the Jewish and human experience. Originally, without explaining why we should eat some but not all types of food, […]

Summary: In Ki Tissa, we read about Moses descending from the mountain with the tablets only to find the people celebrating the Golden Calf which they built in his absence. In his anger, Moses smashes the tablets, and he chastises the people; he then pleads with God to forgive the people and ascends the mountain […]

In this parshah there is mention of many colors as required for mishkan, the tabernacle, the altar, the Torah covers, and their garments.

Sash of linen in turquoise, purple and scarlet wool, of an embroiderer’s craft.

Robe’s hem they made with pomegranate design of turquoise, purple and scarlet wool, twisted.

They made bells of pure gold amid the […]

Helen Keller said: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Andrew Carnegie said: “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” I think we can all agree with these statements. Both apply to today’s parshah. In parshah Terumah, God says to Moses,”They shall make for me […]

This weeks Parshat Bo explains how Moses was told by God to tell the Pharaoh that if he doesn’t let his people go, he will bring the 8th plague of locusts to swarm the land.

Pharaoh urged his staff to let the Hebrews go but Pharaoh would only let the men go and not the […]

Self-doubt can be defined as a lack of confidence in oneself and one’s abilities. It could be about our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, opinions, decisions, and self-views, or any truth we hold in our minds. Researchers suggest that self-doubt specifically involves questioning our own competence.

In this week’s parshah, God tells Moses that he wants Moses to […]

In Parshah Shemot, we learn about Moses and the burning bush, which is a significant event in the life of Moses and the beginning of his mission to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. When Moses sees the burning bush, he approaches it and hears the voice of G-d calling out to him. G-d […]

I am in the midst of a project at home. I’m making a written record of my most treasured belongings – few in number though they may be – and deciding on what is to become of them when I die. For those of you know me, the details I’ve included in these files would […]

The Talmud tells us that the seal of God is stamped with truth. One of the Ten Commandments is to not bear false witness, and there are prohibitions against being dishonest in business and generally misleading others. We tend to think that lying is bad and we advocate for honesty. Yet, if we are to […]

In today’s Torah reading I will focus on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities known for their wickedness and immorality. The people there engaged in sinful acts for which G-d destroyed their cities.

G-d sent two angels to investigate the situation and determine if there were any righteous individuals within the cities. The angels […]