By Rabbi Alex Freedman.
Chag Sameach!
The number ten is having its moment. In a few days, synagogues around the world will chant the Ten Commandments in honor of Shavuot.
What follows are ten reasons why Jews go for cheesecake and other dairy goodies on Shavuot, the holiday when we received the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
10. Torah is compared to milk in Song of Songs 4:11. Just like milk sustains the body, Torah nourishes the soul.
9. The Torah recounts Israel’s journey from the bitterness of Egypt to the sweetness of Israel, the “land flowing with milk and honey.” On Shavuot we recall not just the pause at Sinai but the final destination of Israel.
8. The numerical value of “milk – Halav – חלב” is 40. This is an allusion to the 40 days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai downloading the Torah.
7. The numerical value of “cheese – Gevinah – גבינה” is 70, which corresponds to the “70 faces of Torah,” the multitude of possible interpretations.
6. The four Hebrew words in Numbers 28:26, which describe the Shavuot offering, are “Mincha Hadashah La’Doshem B’Shavuoteichem – an offering of new grain to Hashem on your Festival of Weeks.” The initials of these four words are מחלב. This means “from milk.”
5. At Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were considered to be as innocent as newborns, whose food is milk.
4. Scholars note that ethnic spring harvest festivals – not just Jewish – often feature dairy dishes, perhaps because this was the season for producing cheese.
3. When the Jews received the laws of Kosher slaughter and cooking on Mt. Sinai, they didn’t have the tools to immediately prepare for a meat meal. So they went dairy.
2. Mt. Sinai is also called Har Gavnunim הר גבנונים, “the mountain of majestic peaks” in Psalms 68:16. The similar Hebrew word Gevinah גבינה means “cheese.”
1. This is not necessarily the best, but it is original, though it builds on #10. Milk symbolizes life. It’s a product that flows from a living animal and sustains another living animal. By contrast, meat is a product that comes from a dead animal. Torah, like milk, emerges from life, and our experiences and Torah nourish the living. Like milk, Torah symbolizes life. L’Chaim.
One thing that impresses me about the Jewish tradition is the range of possible answers to any given question, like this one. Just as cheesecake is enhanced by its broad range of flavors, the Torah is richer when it yields multiple interpretations. It’s a prism that refracts a rainbow of light onto our world.
Chag Sameach!
By Hazzan Jenna Greenberg.
Ki mitzion tetze Torah udvar Hashem mirushalayim.
Torah shall come from Zion, the word of Adonai from Jerusalem.
This final half of Isaiah 2:3 is a familiar one, as we recite this passage every time we take the Torah out of the ark. But it bears a particular weight this week, and for 3 different reasons:
We will recall our time Bamidbar, in the wilderness, for all Jews, as “the Torah leads us on our journey of life.”
We will remember Yerushalayim, when we place our new Torah in our Aron haKodesh for the very first time.
We will celebrate the awesomeness of having created an entire Torah, together, as a kehila kedosha, a holy community.
As we recited at the end of Vayikra last Shabbat: Hazak, Hazak, v’nitchazek! May we all be strengthened through this holy communal experience.
Mazal Tov to all of us!
By Hazzan Jacob Sandler.
Lag BaOmer was Monday night/Tuesday this week. The 33rd day of our 7-week journey to Shavuot. The Torah teaches that while we left Egypt and were free on Passover, our freedom wasn’t fully realized until we received the Torah 7 weeks later. As we count those same 7 weeks, we have an opportunity to refine our souls and become even more ready to take hold of our freedom and be our best selves.
I like to ask a lot of questions during the Omer about the sefira (attribute/trait) of the week, and the sefira of the day – how they relate and inform each other. If you’ve been coming to evening minyan regularly, you’ve heard me do this. If not, come check it out.
During the first week, in focusing on Chesed (lovingkindness), I wondered how can I be sure that my love or kindness is still respectful of others’ boundaries (Day 2: Gevurah in Chesed). You wouldn’t want to go in for the hug without knowing if that person is a hugger, or at least it never hurts to ask. Later that week (Day 6: Yesod in Chesed), I thought about how the bonds and relationships in my life support my kindness. Do I surround myself with people who encourage, value and inspire me to be kinder?
During the second week, the week of Gevurah (strength/discipline/restraint/judgment), I thought about how my judgment should come from a place of love and rooted in kindness. (Day 8: Chesed in Gevurah). Sometimes we need tough love. On Day 12 (Hod in Gevurah), it was Yom HaShoah uGevurah, I thought about how judgment without humility can be incredibly dangerous. We must know that our strength comes from HaShem, and never forget what can happen if we become arrogant and judgmental or worse.
The third week is about Tiferet, which is associated with beauty and balance, but also truth and the integration of extremes. I thought about (Day 18: Netzach in Tiferet), how finding balance is never a done deal. That we need to find enduring balance, which requires constantly balancing. It’s an exercise that is ongoing.
In the fourth week, the theme was Netach (endurance, eternity – netzach netzachim, but also ambition and success – nitzachon). I thought about (Day 23: Gevurah in Netzach) how to make good decisions into lasting good habits. I also meditated on (Day 26: Hod in Netzach), sometimes in order to reach our ambitious goals, we need to let go and be grateful for what we’ve already achieved. It’s also important to be humble in our pursuits and asking for help and receiving feedback in order to continue succeeding in the long term.
And in this fifth week of Hod (humility, gratitude, surrender), I always remind myself (Day 29: Chesed in Hod) that humility is not thinking less of myself, but thinking of myself less. Humility is not self-deprecation, but a loving recognition of the greatness of others. I’ve also been thinking about (Day 34: Netzach in Hod) how important it is to make gratitude a practice. Not only to be thankful, but to make a habit of being thankful.
The days and weeks ahead we will look at Yesod and Malchut. Yesod is our foundation, our connections, and our relationships. We can think of our partners, teams, colleagues, families, friends, communities and how they serve as our foundation, our support and our source of intimacy. We might ask ourselves how can I be more kind in my relationships, more discerning, more honest, more consistent or more grateful?
And the final week of Malchut is the most challenging. Malchut is the great receiver. She is the manifestation of all we learn each week, and how we receive the blessings of those meditations. How do we increase our dignity and our ability to lead with these traits? How can we move from freedom to true autonomy, allowing our soul to guide our bodies to do great things? Have we reflected and received the gifts of kindness, strength, balance, success, gratitude, and connection? And are we ready come day 50 to receive the Torah all over again?
By Rabbi Alex Freedman.
When people think of Rabbi Harold Kushner – the Conservative rabbi who passed away Friday at age 88 – they often associate him with the best-selling 1981 book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” And correctly so. That was a wonderful example of sharing Jewish wisdom with the larger world. If that had been his only teaching, Dayeinu – that would have been enough of a career accomplishment.
While I did read that book years ago, it’s not how I think of him as a teacher. That’s because I am grateful to learn from him in a very real way every single week – and you might too without even realizing it.
He was the editor of the Etz Hayim Humash commentary below the line (Drash). So if you are ever in shul following the Torah reading with the Humash, and your eyes wander to the bottom of the page, you are reading Kushner. These comments and insights share timeless treasures from the Torah verses. These short sentences instantly help us understand sometimes cryptic passages and stories. And they add holiness to those precious words.
Here is but one example from this week’s reading, Emor. The topic is the role of priests and how to maintain their ritual purity. The Torah says “and you must treat [the Priests] as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord who sanctify you am holy” (Lv. 21:8).
Let me quote Kushner’s comment on that idea:
“Rabbis and cantors are no different from other Jews. They have no special powers; no obligations devolve on them that do not apply to all Jews. ‘Ten shoemakers can make a Minyan but nine rabbis can’t.’ Nonetheless, they are considered Klei Kodesh – instruments of holiness – because, through their knowledge and teaching and by life, character, and commitments, they show the way to a life of holiness.”
Rabbi Kushner was a mensch and certainly did not intend to glorify himself with those words. But those same words certainly apply to him. Many of us – plenty of rabbis included – have followed his lead to a life of holiness.
While he has sadly passed away, his words endure forever for they are printed for all of us to read. I and many other Jews who read the Humash every week will continue to learn from his wisdom without end.
May his memory be a blessing.
By Hazzan Jenna Greenberg.
From Parashat Kedoshim, the second of our two parshiyot we read this Shabbat, we learn this golden rule from Vayikra 19:18: V’ahavta l’reiakha kamokha, Love your neighbor as yourself.
In the midst of the Holiness Code that spans Chapters 17-26, this biblical quote potentially sums up the entirety of the Torah, as it is written: “One famous account in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells about a gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism. This happened not infrequently, and this individual stated that he would accept Judaism only if a rabbi would teach him the entire Torah while he, the prospective convert, stood on one foot. First he went to Shammai, who, insulted by this ridiculous request, threw him out of the house. The man did not give up and went to Hillel. This gentle sage accepted the challenge, and said: ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!’”
When we look at verse 18 in its entirety, this Talmudic story brings out the meaning of this verse that much more: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord.” At the heart of the Holiness Code in the central book of the Torah, we are reminded by this verse that we have the potential to understand the holiness of God through our personal experiences and our interpersonal relationships.
In certain traditional Jewish circles, children start their Torah learning not with the book of Genesis, but with the book of Leviticus. But by truly understanding Vayikra 19:18, we are also reminded of the beginning of the Torah, when God created us B’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image, we were each given holiness, that spark of the divine that dwells within every human being.
In the middle of this biblical book detailing the various sacrifices offered by our Israelite ancestors, we find this golden rule nestled among these details. We are reminded that while our prayers have now replaced these korbanot, these offerings, that at the heart of it all, we can find holiness: holiness within ourselves and empathy towards others. Loving ourselves and thinking of how our thoughts, words and actions can affect others can help each of us to make choices that will help us increase in holiness, ultimately emulating the divine holiness given to each of us back at the beginning of the Torah.
By Hazzan Jacob Sandler.
This past week we observed Yom HaShoah and this Shabbat, we will read from parshat Tazria-Metzora. The latter was my Bar Mitzvah portion 16 years ago. Back then, I wrote my first D’var Torah which connected the double parasha to the Holocaust, and what follows are those words I wrote in 2007, which continue to be relevant even today. I hope this #ThrowbackThursday is enjoyable to you, and you should feel free to share it with a B’nai Mitzvah student you know, who might especially get a kick out of seeing what their Hazzan was thinking about at their age. May this also serve as a reminder that deep insights can be learned from those who study Torah at any age, and those insights can remain inspiring even as they continue to grow.
“Shabbat Shalom!
Today’s Torah portion is Parashat Tazria Metzora which comes to us from the Book of Vayikra. Tazria Metzora is a double portion that focuses on the ritual purity and impurity of the Israelites’ bodies, clothing and homes.
Parashat Tazria begins by talking about the laws of human contamination. It talks about how a woman is impure at the time of childbirth and teaches us the specific rituals needed in order to become ritually pure again. The parasha continues with specific information on inflammations, burns on the skin, and an affliction similar to leprosy, called Tzara’at, which would appear on the head or face.
Parashat Metzora continues by talking about the stages of purification and discusses the Tzara’at of the house [as well as] the measures needed to purify or destroy a contaminated house. Finally, parashat Metzora ends with what to do about normal and abnormal human discharges.
The Torah states (Lev. 14:34-45), כְּנֶגַע נִרְאָה לִי בַּבָּיִת׃. “when you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I inflict an irruptive plague upon a house… The owner of the house shall come and tell the priest [something like a plague has appeared in my house]… The priest shall order the house cleared… And the priest shall enter to examine the house. the house becomes quarantined, and when the priest returns if the affliction has spread to the walls of the house, the contaminated portions and stones are removed. If the plague again breaks out… The house shall be torn down and taken to an impure place outside the city.“ “וְנָתַץ אֶת־הַבַּיִת…אֶל־מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל־מָקוֹם טָמֵא׃”
In other words, the house is examined, then the house is examined again, then the priest will decide whether or not the house will be torn down.
This is so interesting and this is so challenging. Who ever heard of walls, breaking out with an affliction, and then asking the Cohannet to come and look at the house? It’s so bizarre! So, I turned to the Talmud to help me understand it.
The Rabbis in the Talmud (Mishnah Eruvin 8:2:21) said, ‘bayit ham’nuga lo haya’ בית המנוגע לא היה – a house that carries the affliction of Tzara’at does not exist, ’v’lo atid lihyot’ ולא עתיד להיות – and will not exist in the future! When I first heard this, I said to myself, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me. The case of an infected house never existed, and will never exist? then why did I, and why should we, spend so much time studying about it?!?’ And the Talmud asks the same question, “lama nichtav – למה נכתב?” Why is it written in the Torah? דרוש וקבל שכר (d’rosh v’kibel s’char) – it is written in the Torah, so that we can study and expound upon it, and receive divine reward for our efforts. So I will do just that.
As our sages studied this Parsha, they concluded that Tzara’at in the house was caused by Lashon HaRa – the evil tongue – or gossip. But I would like to take this one step further. The outbreak of Tzara’at could be used as a metaphor for what could happen to a society when they don’t take notice of any kind of misconduct, even something very small.
For example, this past Sunday, we observed Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day. I feel that Tzara’at could be a metaphor for what happened in Nazi Germany. The Nazis spread negative propaganda against the Jews. They used blame and lies to make it seem like the Jews were responsible for all the bad things happening in Germany and the world. Using this metaphor, the Nazis’ use of Lashon HaRa would cause the affliction of [metaphorical] tzara’at within Germany and all Nazi occupied territory.
We can draw a parallel to today’s Parsha. Nazi Germany became an infected house. Those who resisted and the Allies would be like the Kohanim. The Kohanim determined the house was impure and had to be destroyed. And as we know the Allies realized that in order to save the Jews, and all the victims of the Shoah, Hitler and the Nazis had to be destroyed.
We can all learn from this Parsha. We can learn the rituals involved in purifying a house. We can also look for ways to purify ourselves. As a people, let us all act as the Kohanim, refraining from misconduct in order to avoid the spread of tzara’at in our lives.”
By Rabbi Alex Freedman.
Be kind to the stranger: they may grow up to change the world, or at least yours.
If courage had a hall of fame, Shifra and Pua would stand at its entrance. These two women star at the beginning of the Passover story, whose story continues to be told on the final days of Pesach. These two women are largely unknown, which is a shame. For their example continues to lead us.
Shifra and Pua are the Hebrew midwives charged with delivering the Israelite babies. Pharaoh commands them to kill the baby boys but let the girls live. The Torah continues, “The midwives feared G-d and did not do as the King of Egypt instructed. They let the boys live” (Ex. 1:17).
When Pharoah saw Jewish babies being born, he confronted Shifra and Pua. “How could you let them live?” he cried out. They replied, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous. Before the midwife can reach them, they’ve given birth.”
Their act of bravery is the first recorded act of civil disobedience, so timely in the days leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Are these remarkable women Jewish? I don’t believe so. “Hebrew midwives” can mean midwives for the Hebrews. Why would Pharaoh ever expect a Jewish woman to murder Jewish babies? Instead they are two Egyptian women who fear G-d more than Pharaoh, who refuse to take part in a crime against humanity. Shifra and Pua see the stranger as themselves and are thus worth saving. Who knows who these innocent babies might grow up to be?
We do. Moses was one of them. Moses, whose people would one day create in the state of Israel a Tel Aviv maternity hospital at the intersection of Shifra and Pua Streets.
There’s an inspiring story in my favorite Haggadah, called A Different Night. It goes like this:
“One Sunday morning in 1941 in Nazi-occupied Netherlands, a mysterious character rode up on his bicycle and entered the Calvinist Church. He ascended the podium and read aloud the story of the midwives who saved the Hebrew babies and defied Pharaoh’s policy of genocide. “Who is today’s Pharaoh?” he asked.
“Hitler,” the congregation replied.
“Who are today’s Hebrew babies?”
“The Jews.”
“Who will be today’s midwives?”
He left the church, leaving his question hanging in the air.
During the war seven families from this little church hid Jews and other resisters of the Nazis.”
Shifra and Pua inspired these families to see the stranger as an insider, not an outsider. They changed the world for these families.
This time we recall the Exodus story, let us not only condemn Pharaoh but also praise his midwives for their unmatched bravery. The Exodus experience reveals humanity at its lowest point and at its highest.
By Rabbi Alex Freedman.
Here are four new Passover questions I have for you:
1. Has your Seder discussion gotten stuck?
2. How do you take this ancient story and refresh it for 2023?
3. How do you engage both kids and adults?
4. How do you interest both Seder rookies and veterans?
Leading the Seder conversation is a challenge. Let the Seder Supplement help you.
I prepared this updated handout to spark a table discussion. (A big thank you to Shari Imbo for the graphic design).
The Seder Supplement has two front-and-back pages. A few verses from the Torah tell the story of Pharaoh deciding to enslave the Israelites and foreshadow Egyptian oppression.
The second page includes different quotes about oppression, inspired by the Torah. Selected from a range of personalities and historical figures, these quotes spur us to think about oppression in a more sophisticated way.
This first handout is for all the guests; print out a bunch for the table (or share the PDF with virtual guests) to start a conversation. Also print out one copy of the second handout for the Seder leader. This contains my insights on the Torah study, in order to dive a little deeper. It also includes a series of Seder trivia questions to keep things interesting throughout the night.
The Haggadah text itself is a conversation-starter, but sometimes it needs to be unlocked. That’s what the Seder Supplement is intended to be. The word “Haggadah” itself means “Telling the story.” So does the Hebrew word “Maggid,” the longest section of the Seder. The Torah tells us “You shall tell your child on that day [of a future Passover holiday], ‘It is because of what G-d did for me when I left Egypt’” (Ex. 13:8). The challenge – and ultimate satisfaction – is to create an experience and conversation that makes it feel as if we ourselves taste both slavery and freedom. So we’ve got to talk about it. The conversation itself is the experience of renewed liberation. After all, only free people can speak freely.
If you’re hosting, feel free to make copies for your guests (in-person and virtual) and adapt to your needs. The hardest part is starting a meaningful conversation. Once it begins, however, it’s as sweet as Haroset.
No Seder leader can control what the guests will say and who will participate. But every Seder leader can prepare for success by organizing in advance questions, stories, songs, games, and topics for discussion.
This Passover, let’s liberate the conversation too.
Text Study: The Seeds of OppressionWhat motivates Pharaoh to enslave the Israelites? |Torah: Exodus 1:8-14
Text Study: The Seeds of OppressionWhat motivates Pharaoh to enslave the Israelites? | Torah: Exodus 1:6-14
By Hazzan Jenna Greenberg
In this week’s second portion of Vayikra, parashat Tzav, Moshe and Aharon learn what to do in order to start offering the various types of Korbanot, the sacrifices, which were introduced in last week’s parashah: the olah (burnt), the minchah (gift), the hattat (sin), the asham (guilt), the milluim(inauguration), the shelamim (peace) offerings.
The final korban shelamim is unique from many of the other sacrifices. Unlike the others that were either completely burned on the mizbei’ah, the altar, or were eaten by the Kohanim, the priests, a shelamim was divided: some was burned on the mizbei’ah, some was given to the priests, and some was eaten by the people who brought it. It was shared between God, the Kohanim, and the individual who brought the shelamim.
When you hear the name of this particular sacrifice, shelamim, it has a similar sound to an even more familiar Hebrew word, shalom, peace, as they share the same shoresh, or Hebrew root: Shin-Lamed-Mem.
Rashi, our favorite French commentator from 1,000 years ago, said the following about this shelamim/shalom connection: “They are called shelamim because they bring shalom, peace, to the mizbei’ah, and to the kohanim, and to the person bringing the korban.”
This is a beautiful idea, that the sharing of this particular sacrifice allows this gift to be shared between God, the priests, and the one who brings it. There is an idea that shalom increases, according to Rashi’s understanding, when one brings a shelamim to the mizbei’ah.
While we no longer offer sacrifices on a divine altar today, we have replaced this practice with the offering of tefilot, of prayers, instead. These are our gifts to God in our modern lives.
The instructions for bringing a shelamim sacrifice include these words: yadav tevi’enah, their hands will bring it (Vayikra 7:30). Today, we pray, not by offering sacrifices or physical gifts to God on an altar, but rather by reciting prayers from the siddur, as well as the prayers of our hearts.
An idea that one can glean from yadav tevi’enah is that one should have kavanah, the intention of directing one’s own prayers to God. There is a one-to-one relationship between each of us and God. While a prayer leader prays on our behalf, we are encouraged to not let that detract from our direct and individualized personal relationships with God.
Shelamim, while related to shalom, means whole or complete. When we direct our personal prayers to the Divine, we have the opportunity to feel whole within ourselves. And with that feeling of wholeness often comes a feeling of inner peace. When we offer up our gifts, our deepest personal prayers, whether from the siddur or from our own hearts, we open up a relationship for God to give us the gift of inner peace and wholeness.
May we all find that personal connection with God when we pray, and in doing so, I wish for all of us that, through the channel of prayer, we receive back that gift of inner peace within ourselves, and a whole and holy relationship with the Divine.
By Hazzan Jacob Sandler.
Chodesh Tov! Today marks the beginning of the Hebrew month Nisan – a name that actually came from the Babylonians. The original Hebrew name of this month was Chodesh Aviv – the month of Spring. With it comes the two-week warning that Passover is on its way, and in exactly 2 weeks, we’ll be gearing up for the second seder and the start of the counting of the Omer.
It’s a new month, and a new season. It’s also a new book of the Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus. The Book and parasha which bears his name speak to us about how to worship God. What offerings to bring, and when. We learn how to use that Mishkan, the portable sanctuary, the completion of which was one of the moments the Exodus was complete, as Rabbi Freedman taught us last week.
The korbanot (offerings) we read about and recall from both Tabernacle and Temple times, have long since been replaced with prayer services. Offerings of words rather than animals. Pleasing odors have been replaced by pleasing voices, and it is our prayers that bring us closer (karov) to God, ourselves, our Jewish community and the world. Karov – closeness is famously the Hebrew root of the word Korban, often translated as sacrifice or offering. A Korban is more deeply understood as a means by which we draw closer to God.
And how fitting that these Korbanot are elucidated in the Book of Vayikra which translates to “He called.” Two letters are shared in the root Vayikra (and He Called) Kuf-Resh-Alef and Korban (offering) Kuf-Resh-Bet. Calling out to one another, calling each other in, also draws us closer to each other. This connection is famously played upon in the Ashrei: Karov Hashem lechol Kor’av, lechol asher yikra’uhu be’emet – God is close to all who call Him; to all who call out to Him in truth. When we call out to God with honesty, sincerity, and integrity, we can draw closer to Hashem. So while the next few weeks will surely be filled with details about what and how to offer animals to God, I encourage each of us to consider the intentions behind these offerings, and examine how our words, our prayers, our songs can be offered up and draw us nearer to who we want to be, and nearer to God.
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