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Family Corner is a space to offer interactive and thoughtful ideas for family engagement with the Parshat Hashavua (weekly Torah reading). This week in the Parsha (Vayakhel) we encounter themes of Shabbat, Tzedakah (Charity), being artistic, following instructions. Parsha Summary Moses teaches the rules of Shabbat. (35:1-3) Moses asks the Israelites for a donation of gifts and those who are skilled help build the Mishkan under the ...

This enigmatic passage in the Talmud (Beitzah 16a) offers us insight into a realm of spirituality that is sometimes overlooked. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן ...

וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ ...

When referring to the ornamental crown around the top f the Table and Alter in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) the Torah says that the crown was “for it” (Lo). On the other hand, when referring to the ornamental crown on the Ark, the Torah says that that the crown was “on it” (alav). Considering that these three crowns were very similar, the different language used to describe the crown placement is noteworthy. Rabbi Bahya Ben ...

The month of February is all about the heart. Celebrate American Heart Month by learning more about how you can gain and maintain great cardiovascular health as well as reduce your risk for heart disease. Heart disease can affect people of any age or gender and has no boundaries. In the last 20 years, heart disease has been the leading cause of death in both adult men and women in the United States. Increasing rates of obesity and hypertension ...

What is the Torah’s view of civil law - theft, damages, loans - the laws that lead to a civil society? Many of the laws found in Parshat Mishpatim overlap with similar laws in other ethical societies. Is there anything Jewish about being ethical, or are only the rituals distinctly Jewish? In short, does it matter to God how we act towards each other. Prof. Rabbi Herbert Basser notes that: “It is easier to appreciate the ...

Studies In Spirituality A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible Rabbi Jonathan Sacks / OU Press / Maggid 2021 Reviewed by Rabbi Barry Gelman Spirituality is hard to define. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in a posthumously published work, has done a great service to the Jewish and general public by writing a collection of essays focused on what I would call “practical spirituality.” He does so through the familiar patterns of essays based ...

Family Corner is a space to offer interactive and thoughtful ideas for family engagement with the Parshat Hashavua (weekly Torah reading). This week in the Parsha (Mishpatim) we encounter themes of Mount Sinai, accepting the Torah, 3 Pilgrimage Festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot), Kashrut (not mixing meat and dairy), being kind to others. Parsha Summary Interpersonal laws ranging from the treatment of slaves to the exhibition of kindness ...

וַיְסַפֵּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ לְחֹ֣תְנ֔וֹ אֵת֩ כּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה Moses then recounted to his ...

Family Corner is a space to offer interactive and thoughtful ideas for family engagement with the Parshat Hashavua (weekly Torah reading). This week in the Parsha (Yitro) we encounter themes of the Ten Commandments, Shabbat, honoring parents and honesty. Parsha Summary Yitro brings his daughter Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, to his son-in-law Moses. (18:1-12) Moses follows Yitro's advice and appoints judges to help him ...