Archive for the
‘Weekly Torah Portion’ Category

Parashat Korach July 2, 2022 | 3 Tamuz 5782 Torah: Numbers 16:1-18:32 | Triennial: 15:8-15:41 Haftarah: I Samuel 17:25-17:32 Disputation Without Denigration Ilana Kurshan Our parashah tells the story of Korach and his followers, who lead a rebellion to undermine the leadership of Moshe and Aaron in the wilderness. God responds by orchestrating a ceremony [...]

Parashat Sh’lach June 25, 2022 | 26 Sivan 5782 Torah: Numbers 13:1-15:41 | Triennial: 15:8-15:41 Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24 Thoughts Upon Riding a Camel Under the Knee of the Dead Ilana Kurshan Our parashah is bookended by the story of the spies and the commandment of tzitzit. At the beginning of the parashah, God instructs Moshe [...]

Parashat: Beha’alotcha June 18, 2022 | 19 Sivan 5782 Torah: Numbers 8:1-12:16 | Triennial: 10:35-12:16 Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7 Let the Lamps Give Light Ilana Kurshan This week’s parashah describes the appointment of seventy elders to help judge the people. As God tells Moshe, “I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them,” so [...]

Parashat Nasso June 11, 2022 | 12 Sivan 5782 Torah: Numbers 4:21-7:89 | Triennial: 7:1-7:89 Haftarah: Judges 13:2-25 Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow Ilana Kurshan Our parashah describes the laws of the Nazir, one who elects to take a vow of consecration to God for a certain period of time. Such an individual is required to [...]

Parashat Bamidbar June 3, 2022 | 4 Sivan 5782 Torah: Numbers 1:1-4:20 | Triennial: 3:14-4:20 Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22 Flags at the Shabbat Table Ilana Kurshan Every Friday night my family sits at a long rectangular table set for Shabbat. It is the only night of the week when we all sit down to eat together [...]

Parashat Bechukotai May 27, 2022 | 26 Iyyar 5782 Torah: Leviticus 26:3-27:34 | Triennial: 27:1-27:34 Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14 Showered in Blessing Ilana Kurshan Parashat Bechukotai consists primarily of a litany of blessings and curses that will befall the Jewish people depending on whether or not we obey God. The curses are quite long and graphic, [...]

Parashat Behar May 20, 2022 | 19 Iyyar 5782 Torah: Leviticus 25:1-26:2 | Triennial: 25:29-26:2 Haftarah: Jeremiah 32:6-27 Given Over to the Heart Ilana Kurshan Our parashah contains a rather vague and general prohibition against mistreating other people: “Do not wrong one another, but fear your God, for I the Lord am your God” (Leviticus [...]

Parashat Behar May 20, 2022 | 19 Iyyar 5782 Torah: Leviticus 25:1-26:2 | Triennial: 25:29-26:2 Haftarah: Jeremiah 32:6-27 Given Over to the Heart Ilana Kurshan Our parashah contains a rather vague and general prohibition against mistreating other people: “Do not wrong one another, but fear your God, for I the Lord am your God” (Leviticus [...]

Parashat Emor May 13, 2022 | 12 Iyyar 5782 Torah: Leviticus 21:1-24:23 | Triennial: 23:23-24:23 Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31 Among the Bearded Barley Ilana Kurshan Parshat Emor describes the Omer offering that must be brought to the Temple on the “day after the Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:16), interpreted by the rabbis as the sixteenth of Nisan, which [...]

Parashat Kedoshim May 6, 2022 | 5 Iyyar 5782 Torah: Leviticus 19:1-20:27 | Triennial: 19:15-20:27 Haftarah: Amos 9:7-15 How Old is Old? Ilana Kurshan Most public buses in Israel feature a sign that quotes from a verse in this week’s parashah: “You shall rise before the aged'' (Leviticus 19:32). The sign is intended as a [...]

Parashat Achrei Mot April 30, 2022 | 29 Nisan 5782 Torah: Leviticus 16:1-18:30 | Triennial: 17:1-18:30 Haftarah: I Samuel 20:18-42 14th day of the Omer I Need Your Sacrifices After All Ilana Kurshan This week’s parashah contains God’s instructions to Moshe concerning Aaron’s entrance into the holy shrine of the Temple to achieve atonement. The [...]

Shabbat, Seventh and Eighth Days of Pesach April 22-23, 2022 | 22-23 Nisan 5782 Torah: Seventh Day Exodus 13:17-15:26; Maftir: Number 28:19-25 Eighth Day Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17 Haftarah: Seventh Day II Samuel 22:1-51 Eighth Day Isaiah 10:32-12:6 Singing at the Sea and Beyond Ilana Kurshan On the final days of Pesach, we read Shirat Hayam, a [...]

Shabbat First Day of Pesah April 15, 2022 | 14 Nisan 5782 Torah: Exodus 12:21-51; Numbers 28:16-25 Haftarah: Joshua 5:2-6:1 Pesach: History begins at Home Ilana Kurshan Moshe and Miriam, two of the three siblings who play a key role in the drama of the Exodus, are a study in contrasts. Though he is hardly [...]