After the drama of revelation, rupture, and repair, Parashat Vayakhel begins quietly, almost modestly: “וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה אֶת כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” “Moshe assembled the entire community of the Children of Israel” (Exodus 35:1). Before there is a Mishkan, before there is gold or artistry or sacred…
Parashat Ki Tisa is one of the most dramatic in the Torah. It moves from the high of receiving Torah directly from God atop the mountain; to the low of idolatry, in the making of the golden calf. God is incensed. Moses argues with God,…
וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ בִגְדֵי־קֹ֖דֶשׁ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֑יךָ לְכָב֖וֹד וּלְתִפְאָֽרֶת׃ Make sacral vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment. (Ex.28.2-3) Or as Polonius says in Hamlet: “The apparel oft proclaims the man,” (Act 1, Scene 3). What does it meant to be humble or show humility? What…
What does it mean to give? Rabbi Gershon Sillins In our portion this week, God tells Moses to “tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me; take My offering from all whose heart moves them to give”. (Ex. 25:1-2) This seems notably different from…
EUPJ Torah Commentary – Mishpatim 5786 Rabbi Akiva Weingarten Parashat Mishpatim begins with a striking shift. After the revelation at Sinai, after thunder and fire and a voice that shook the nation, the Torah moves immediately to what appear to be ordinary legal details. The…