Parshat Beshalach תשפב This Shabbat, on which we read the Torah portion ofבשלח (Beshalach), is called שבת שירה (Shabbat Shira),the “Shabbat of the Song,” because this sedra (portion) contains the song that the Jewish people sang to Hashem in appreciation for the salvation that they experienced from…
About two months into the pandemic I started making herring. The chocolate chip cookies made me do it. I was giving classes all the time, to people who were isolated, and often sad and fearful. On a regular basis I…
Parshat Bo תשפב On Rosh Hashanah this year, the Jewish calendar year changed from 5781 to 5782 (Rosh Hashanah means the “head of the year” or the beginning of the new year.) This number represents the years that have passed since…
She’s all of two and a half feet tall, much smaller than most of her peers. She lives a life of quiet solitude, passing her time in a small glass house, all by herself. But that’s not to say that…
Parshat Va'eira תשפב This week’s portion’s opening two verses contain four different holy names of Hashem. (ב) וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹקִים אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְדֹוָד (ג) וָאֵרָא אֶל אַבְרָהָם אֶל יִצְחָק וְאֶל יַעֲקֹב בְּקֵל שַׁקָּי וּשְׁמִי יְדֹוָד לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם 2) Elo(k)him spoke to Moshe and…
Shemot תשפב This week begins the second book of the Torah, Shemot - Exodus, which opens with the Jewish people’s slavery and redemption from Egypt and concludes with the completion of the Tabernacle. As the story commences, Pharaoh had just decided to reduce…
By Tuesday afternoon I knew that I was in real trouble. What started out as a regular stomachache on Sunday morning, was now a constant searing pain inside my gut. Originally, I assumed it was the herring I ate on…