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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

Fishing Alaska

from Les Rosenthal

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

Torah Leyning Class

May 23, 2023

The sweet, mellifluous sounds of Torah chanted by the children of Israel are no longer bound by time and space; no longer to be heard only on Shabbat in shul. Within the unlikely venue of Zoom has… 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

Seder Symphony

via Arnie Warshawsky

Civil War Seder

From Mark Gottdiener, PhD

When I taught my course on “American Jews” I often asked– “Can you imagine Jews fighting and killing each other during a war?” They couldn’t.

Civil War is famous for such an event. So is WWI… 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

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