Drash

The Character of Abraham (Lech-Lecha: Gen. 12:1-17:27)

Drash by Stan Satz

Three of the most popular and almost identical apocryphal (that is, non-Biblical) stories about Abraham are found in pre-Talmudic lore, as in the The Book of Jubilees Chapter 12, second century BCE; in the… Continue reading

Drash for Chayei Sarah

by Sandra Z. Armstrong

In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, It is God’s faith in us that keeps us going. Abraham brought God’s words to earth. We as the people of Israel are to follow these words knowing that… Continue reading

Foul Mixtures and Fools

Sotah Drash by Stan Satz

Naso: Numbers 4:21-7:89  

Numbers 5:11-31 contains the distasteful sotah ritual instigated by a husband who is convinced, even though there are no witnesses, that his wife has been unfaithful to him.  Sotah means… Continue reading

Written Torah, Oral Torah, and Atonement

BeharBechukotai בְּהַר-בְּחֻקֹּתַי

Drash by Daniel Koster

Blessed were the Israelites in the time of Moses, for they knew the danger. The procedure for sacrifice is to place the offering on the altar, and wait for fire to… Continue reading

Tazria and Tzaraʻat

Parshat Tazria Drash by Alexander Fellman

Good Shabbos, all. I’d like to start, as is my custom, with a little story: There is a council of Rabbis meeting, discussing a matter pertaining to the ritual impurity of an oven under… Continue reading

Dancing to Praise God

Haftorah Commentary for Sh’mini by Stan Satz

In the Torah, the most familiar example of dancing to praise God is found in Exodus Chapter 15 verse 20: Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, choreographs and orchestrates the… Continue reading

Eternal Flame and Sacrifice

Tetzaveh Drash by Daniel Koster

Why does God want all this? This week, God instructs the Israelites to maintain  an eternal oil lamp, to construct extremely intricate (that is, expensive) robes for the  priests, and to sacrifice a… Continue reading

Justice and Mercy

Parsha Bo drash by Stan Satz

Parasha Bo (Chapter 10 through the 16th verse of Chapter 13)

I was in graduate school at Kent State University in the iconoclastic early 1970’s. At that time, one of my non-Jewish English graduate… Continue reading

The Bones of Joseph

Vayehi Drash by Howard Streicher

The different themes to pursue in Parsha Vayehi (“And he lived”) give us the opportunity for integrating the past into the present.  Yet, accepting the value of Torah without questioning the literal truth of… Continue reading

The Rest is Commentary

Vayera Drash by Alexander Fellman

וַיְחַזֵּ֤ק יְהוָה֙ אֶת־לֵ֣ב פַּרְעֹ֔ה

But Hashem hardened pharaoh’s heart.

 

There is a concept among Christians called the unforgivable sin, the sin that God will never allow repentance for. In most churches, it is the… Continue reading

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