Shemini – Aharon’s Surviving Sons: Humility in the Face of Fire
Parsha Shimini is known for the deaths of Aharon’s oldest sons, Nadav and Avihu. With the inauguration of the Mishkan (the portable Temple also known as the Tabernacle) Aharon and […]
Category Archives: Leviticus/Vayikra
Acharei/Omer – The Line Between Fear and Reverence — By Ben
The Torah portion Acharei Mos, begins with reminding us of the death of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon’s two oldest sons who died in parshas Shimini. It is probably not a […]
Stumbling Blocks, the Blind, and Political Correctness — By Ben
This week’s Torah portion has concepts that are real winners. Some of its verses are so popular other religions and even the secular world can be found quoting them. Among […]
Hitler Could Have Saved Six Million Jews — By Ben
As I have pointed out previously, I find it fascinating that almost all of the Torah portion of Balak follows the perspective of the wicked prophet Bilam. I get that […]
Behar – Taking Interest
It was late last week that I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across a friend’s post (see above.) Whenever any of my secular friends talk about […]
Emor – Blasphemy
In parsha Emor the Torah goes through several prescriptions of ways to be holy including who can serve in the Temple, what sacrifices are allowed, the mitzvahs of observing the […]
Don’t Cut Corners – By Ben
Have you ever noticed the Torah has some strange notions about corners? For example let me refer to two verses from this week’s Torah portion, Kedoshim. When you reap your […]
After the Death — By Ben
This past Shabbos/end of Pesach I found myself in Bellevue Washington. A good friend from my years in Seattle was getting married over the holiday weekend and lucky for me […]
Tazria – Don’t Cast Out the Leper — By Ben
One of the things that has bothered me about the Torah is the insensitive treatment of a person who has contracted leprosy. Exiling said person like a piece of garbage, […]
Messages from God
I don’t know how many times I had glanced between my wall clock and my microwave’s time display not realizing there was a growing disparity between the two. Knowing I […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 