The westernmost member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
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
The Blessings of Yaʻakov
Toldot Drash By Alexander Fellman
There’s a story I like. A Jew was found on a deserted island. He’d made quite a time of his prison there, building himself a house, a street, and two synagogues. “I go to that… Continue reading
Divine Justice & Free Will
Reʻeh Drash by Howard Streicher
Reʻeh, “see,” is the longest parsha with the most words in the book of words (Devarim) 7442 letters, 1932 Hebrew words.
To begin the parsha, God appears to offer a clear choice placing… Continue reading
Tzedek
Shoftim Drash By Marlene Booth & Avi Soifer
Marlene: The portion of the Torah I read today emphasizes the need to have two witnesses in a criminal case. No conviction can be based on the testimony of a single… Continue reading
Hear and Remember
ʻEkev Drash by Sandra Z. Armstrong
The great joy of Shabbat carries through every day until the time comes when we open up the Torah and the words flow through us. In ʻEkev, Moses stresses the importance of “remembering” to… Continue reading
Memory, Forgetting, and Accuracy
Drash on Va’etchanan
by Alex Golub
There’s an old joke about a guy who is sent to prison. He’s terrified to be there and nervously, he sits down with some of the oldest convicts to try to blend in.… Continue reading
Irony and Role Reversal
Parsha Balak Drash
by Fran Margulies
Our word irony comes from ancient Greek theater device erroneia. A comic character was an eiron, a faker who pretended to be dumb but was really smart. At end of the play the… Continue reading
Grasshoppers and Giants
Parashat Shelach Drash from visiting Rabbi Norman Levin
I want to thank you for inviting me to give the dvar Torah this Shabbat. This is my first time in Hawaiʻi and I am very pleased to be here. Feel… Continue reading
Spiritual Acts of Faith
Parsha Chukat Drash by Donald Armstrong
I have always enjoyed the poetry of Ogden Nash. He wrote:
The cow is of the bovine ilk. One end is moo, the other milk.
A short, clean and humorous poem that is so… Continue reading
- In Jerusalem neighborhoods bound together by terror, anger and trepidation about what comes nextAfter a devastating terrorist attack, Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem wait to see what happens next. -- The post In Jerusalem neighborhoods bound together by terror, anger and trepidation about what comes next appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
- 13-year-old Palestinian shoots 2 in Jerusalem as violence flares and government flexesThe boy was wounded himself when one of his targets, an off duty soldier carrying his weapon, returned fire. -- The post 13-year-old Palestinian shoots 2 in Jerusalem as violence flares and government flexes appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.