Category Archives: Shabbat

This week’s Thoughts are gleaned from Parasha Pekudei. However, before getting into the Torah portion, I want to call your attention to a particularity on this year’s calendar, at least on the Jewish calendar. This Friday, March 4, is the second day … Continue reading →

“He (Moses) assembled,”  Exodus 35:1 – 38:20 In many ways, this week’s Torah portion is a repeat of Parashat Terumah, Exodus 25:1 – 27:19. The primary difference is that in Terumah, HaShem told Moses how to construct the Mishkan (Tabernacle). … Continue reading →

This week’s parasha, Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11 – 34:35, is crammed full of material to think upon and internalize. Early in the parasha, we read about the appointment of Betzalel and Oholiab to oversee the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) … Continue reading →

Commenting on the parable in Luke 15:11-32, concerning a father and two brothers, one elder and one younger, Amy-Jill Levine points out, “As all biblically literate people know, the beginning words of this parable, “There was a man who had … Continue reading →

The majority of this week’s parasha, Terumah, Exodus 25:1-27:19, deals with HaShem’s instructions to Moses concerning the design and construction of the Tabernacle. The first thing on the agenda was for Bnei-Israel to collect an offering, and it was to … Continue reading →

In last year’s Shulchan Shelanu (Our Table) on this week’s Torah reading, Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1 – 24:18, Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, began by looking at the following passage, Then to Moses He said, “Come up to ADONAI, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy … Continue reading →

There are a number of distinctive aspects of this week’s parasha, Yitro, Exodus 18:1 – 20:231. The first is that Yitro is one of only three parashot named for non-Jews. The other two are Noach (Noah) and Balak. Interestingly, as … Continue reading →