Tag Archives: drash

Morah Yehudis ties our local "Fiddler" production with our history, including the June firebombing attack.

The passage reflects on the passage of time, the struggle for meaningful connections, and the importance of repentance, urging individuals to embrace transformative choices and divine guidance.

Thanking God, parents, and others is vital, emphasizing gratitude for blessings received and recognizing obligations, reflecting on life’s value even amidst challenges.

A rabbi, overwhelmed by nature's beauty, illustrates how counting the Omer helps manage life's overwhelming moments and encourages personal growth and introspection.

The Torah portion Pekudei describes the Tabernacle's significance and stones' role in representing connection, memory, holiness, and nature in the community.

Purim teaches about hidden identities, with costumes symbolizing concealment. Esther's bravery reveals the strength to embrace one's true self, even amidst fear.

An anonymous queen inspires reflection on G-d's presence during Purim and Shabbat, emphasizing spiritual elevation through preparation, joy, and the essence of community worship.

This parasha omits Moshe's name, emphasizing the essence of identity and divine connection. It reflects on Jewish resilience against Amalek, intertwining memory with faith during hardships.

The Torah readings this week emphasize community, inner connection, and the concept of sacred space, highlighting our relationship with G-d and each other.

Mishpatim is replete with down to earth, interpersonal laws like borrowing and lending, and guarding people’s property. Many apply the quip to this parasha: ‘After the ecstasy, comes the laundry.’  In other words, after the transcendent revelation at Sinai where, as Rashi puts it, the three million were as ‘one …

As the saying goes, ‘after the ecstasy, the laundry.’ This observation is clearly illustrated in the two latest sequential Torah portions of Yitro and Mishpatim.

Please don’t leave Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur without hangin’ out in a Sukkah. It would be like experiencing Passover but skipping Shavuot- i.e. going from ‘freedom from’ without going to ‘freedom for.’  

How do I know Judaism is still alive and well? More people go to synagogue for Kol NIdrei than any other time of the year- and there’s no food served for at least twenty four hours!

An obvious question this year is why, when the first day of RH comes out on Shabbat, don’t we blow the shofar?

The 2022 Boulder Jewish Festival Film series, highlights several Holocaust related movies. One of the most prominent is "Plan A," the true story of attempted revenge on the Nazis by some Jewish groups. This article discusses some of the complex issues brought up by this film.

The Omer helps navigate the unknown terrain between Pesach and Shavuot, which is why it may be both an exciting and daunting time. We are meant to ascend, both temporally and inwardly, the space between being in Egypt and arriving at Mount Sinai.

As we complete the book of Exodus with the construction of the Holy Sanctuary, I can’t help thinking of the following quote from 2021’s Academy Award’s winning film, "Nomadland." “I may be houseless, but not homeless” was one of the opening phrases by the laconic but sensitive, Fern.

‘You can’t choose the card you’re dealt, but you can choose to live every minute of it.’

How can the saddest days of the year make someone happy?

This week’s Torah portion, Tazriah, is a reminder that births are happening while our focus may be on sickness.

This week’s parsha bears a striking echo to our current situation. It is the law of someone who got Tzaraat, a disease with physical symptoms of spiritual flaws that affected the person’s body, clothes, or even homes.

This year’s Passover seders will be smaller than ever, but they may prepare us for the biggest event in history.

How is this Passover different to all other Passovers? Well, in just about every way possible.

We just finished reading the book of Exodus, and also the last of the special Torah readings before Passover. This reading, ‘the chapter of the NEW moon,’ begins with the mandate to declare the upcoming month of Nisan, as the first month in the Jewish calendar.

Chanukah may be over but its message is not. Especially with recent challenges to Jewish lives, we need to find experiences that bolster our determination to thrive, and our confidence in humanity.