There's a phrase most of us have heard at one time or another, usually when a gift doesn't quite achieve its desired outcome: "It's the thought that counts."
This sentiment is a kind thing to say. But candidly? It's not a very Jewish thing to say.
This week's double portion, Vayakhel-Pekud…
In Parashat Ki Tisa, we encounter one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking moments in all of Torah: the sin of the Golden Calf. Moses is on Sinai receiving the word of Gd directly. The Israelites grow restless, barely weeks removed from the splitting of the sea, from manna raining from hea…
This week's Torah portion, Parashat Tetzaveh, addresses many dimensions of our sacred practice, the priestly garments, the structure of the Tabernacle, the arrangement of the showbread, and more. Yet among these details, one instruction stands out for its profound message about Jewish contin…
This week's Torah portion, Terumah, describes the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), a sacred space built from the voluntary contributions of the Israelite people. Gd instructs Moses to "take for Me an offering from every person whose heart motivates them" (Exodus 25:2). The Mishkan r…
In Parashat Mishpatim, immediately following the revelation at Sinai, we receive a detailed legal code governing civil society. Among the laws, the Torah commands: "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress them, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 22:20). This verse appears…
