5101 US-42 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40241 • (502) 423-1818

Ha-azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1–52)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Ha-azinu – הַאֲזִינוּ (Deuteronomy 32:1–52)

This week’s Torah Portion Ha-azinu begins with Moses’ poetic call to heaven and earth to stand as witness to the greatness of God and Israel’s need to follow after God’s ways.

Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter!

The heavens are called to “give ear”, ha-azinu, and the earth is called to “listen”, tishma.
But what is the difference between hearing the sounds, “give ear,” and truly “listening” to the words of one who speaks?

Ha-azinu is a word reserved for poetic pronouncements; heaven bound, such words seem seldom suited for human speech. Tishma is a word more familiar to our earth, from the word Shema it mean to truly listen to the words and take them to heart.

There is a time for lofty words, and there is a time to listen for their meaning in our hears and in our lives. Shanah Tovah, may it be a year of Justice and of Peace.

Parsha Ha-azinu Summary:

Moses sings his last song, a love poem to God and a chastisement of the people, who are not worthy of Adonai. (32:1–6) The poem recounts the blessings that God has bestowed on the Israelites, the wicked deeds they have committed, and the punishments that God then inflicted upon them. (32:7–43) God tells Moses to begin his ascent of Mount Nebo, from where he will see the Land of Israel from a distance but will not be allowed to enter it. (32:45–52)

Yom Rishon shel Rosh Hashanah (Genesis 22:1-19)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Yom Rishon shel Rosh Hashanah – יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (Genesis 22:1-19)

Every year, we take part in ritualized ceremonies that are intended to help us repent and become better and more worthy people. The essence of the High Holy Days is the chance we are given each year to engage in spiritual stock-taking, to repair ourselves, and to enjoy a new opportunity in our relations with God and our fellow humans. It is hard to imagine a more optimistic day than one that offers us a chance, every year, to turn over a new leaf in our lives.

Parsha Yom Rishon shel Rosh Hashanah Summary:

Rosh Hashanah Morning, Day 1 (Genesis 21)(Many Reform congregations omit this portion, and read Genesis 22 on Rosh Hashanah, Day 1.)Sarah, who has longed for a child for many years, conceives a child with Abraham and gives birth to Isaac, meaning “one who laughs.” Isaac’s birth fulfills Gods promise that they will bear a son who will grow to be a generation. As Isaac grows into his boyhood, Sarah is conflicted by the presence of her servant Hagar and her son Ishmael that she conceived with Abraham and Hagar is banished from the home. God visits Hagar in the wilderness her, promises that Ishmael will also grow into a great nation, and tenderly provides water for the mother and son. Ishmael grows to adulthood and is married. This portion is a reminder that God’s promises are kept, and God’s compassion extends beyond the tents of our people.Rosh Hashanah Morning, Day 2 (Genesis 22)(Many Reform congregations read this portion on Rosh Hashanah, Day 1.)This portion is commonly known as The Akeidah, or “the binding.” In these terse and tense verses, the subject matter touches upon God, the nature of faith, and the demands faith may make of us. God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a supreme test of faith. Abraham, God’s loyal servant, agrees. Just as Abraham is about to offer his son up as a sacrifice, an angel calls out to him, instructing him not to harm the boy, and Abraham sacrifices a ram in place of his son. For the ancient reader this may have served as a rejection of human sacrifice, a practice of ancient Israel’s neighbors. For the modern reader, perhaps one is called upon to consider one’s own tests and sacrifices.The haftarah (1 Samuel 1:1-2:10)Tells the story how Hannah prayed to God for a child, and how her prayer was answered with subsequent birth of Samuel.

Nitzavim – Vayeilech (Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20, 31:1–30)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Nitzavim – Vayeilech- נִצָּבִים – וַיֵּלֶךְ (Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20, 31:1–30)

“Then Adonai your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).

Adonai our God evolves through history and our relationship with God continues to develop.

As we approach the end of the Torah and the end of the book of Deuteronomy, we find a new concept in the Torah, repentance. We can return to God, we can mend our ways, we can repent and God is now a compassionate God.

Parsha Nitzavim – Vayeilech Summary:

Moses tells the assembled people that God’s covenant speaks to them and to all of the generations who will follow. (29:9–14) God warns the Israelites that they will be punished if they act idolatrously, the way the inhabitants of the other nations do. (29:15–28) Moses reassures the people that God will not forsake them and that they can attain blessings by following God’s commandments. (30:1–20) Moses prepares the people for his death and announces that Joshua will succeed him. (31:1–8) Moses instructs the priests and the elders regarding the importance of reading the Torah. (31:9–13) God informs Moses that upon his death, the people will commit idolatry and “many evils and troubles shall befall them.” God tells Moses to teach the people a poem that will “be My witness.” (31:14–30)

“Then Adonai your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).

Adonai our God evolves through history and our relationship with God continues to develop.

As we approach the end of the Torah and the end of the book of Deuteronomy, we find a new concept in the Torah, repentance. We can return to God, we can mend our ways, we can repent and God is now a compassionate God.

Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Ki Tavo – כִּי-תָבוֹא (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)

“You have declared this day that Adonai is your God … And Adonai has declared this day that you are God’s people …” (Deuteronomy 26:17-18)

We choose God and God chose us. It is a mutual relationship we have with God. As the rabbis interpret in the Talmud.  The people of Israel crown Adonai every day when we say at our Temples and synagogues, “Hear Israel Adonai is your God, Adonai One”

Parsha Ki Tavo Summary:

The Israelites are instructed to express their gratitude to God for their bountiful harvests and freedom from slavery by tithing ten percent of their crops for the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. (26) The people are told to display on large stones God’s commandments for all to see. (27:1-8) The Levites are to proclaim curses upon those who violate God’s commandments. (27:15-26) The Israelites are told that if they obey God’s mitzvot faithfully, they will receive every blessing imaginable. They are also told that if do not fulfill their brit with God, many curses will descend upon them. (28:1-69) Moses reminds the Israelites of the miracles they witnessed in the wilderness and commands them to observe the terms of the covenant so that they may succeed in all that they undertake. (29:1-8)

Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Ki Teitzei- כִּי-תֵצֵא (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)

“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for Adonai your God detests anyone who does this.” (Deuteronomy 22:3)

Our ancestors were obsessed with organizing the world, everything needed to be in order that is why we cannot plow our fields using two kinds of animals, nor wear clothes that are a mixture of cotton and wool, or plant hybrid trees or vegetables.

They did not realize that what makes the world more interesting, what brings out life, is when we go out of the ordinary when we allow a man to wear a woman’s dress (just like Jacob did for Joseph) or vis- a verse. And the best fruits, cloths and vegetables and also humans are the hybrid ones who do not follow the roles and mix one species with the other.

Parsha Ki Teitzei Summary:

Moses reviews a wide variety of laws regarding family, animals, and property. (21:10–22:12) Various civil and criminal laws are delineated, including those regarding sexual relationships, interaction with non-Israelites, loans, vows, and divorce. (22:13–24:5) Laws of commerce pertaining to loans, fair wages, and proper weights and measures are given. (24:10–25:16) The parashah concludes with the commandment to remember for all time the most heinous act committed against the Israelites—Amalek’s killing of the old, weak, and infirm after the Israelites left Egypt. (25:17–19)

Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Shoftim – שֹׁפְטִים (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)

“The king shall write a copy of this Torah.”  (Deuteronomy 17:18)

Now, there is an interesting job description for a king. One has to imagine that the king of all Israel might have more pressing duties to attend to than to take the time to make for himself a copy of the entire Torah. But, then again, perhaps there is wisdom in these words which we too might need to learn.

The purpose of this commandment is explained directly in the text:
“So the king can read it all the days of his life, so he may learn to fear God, to keep all the words of this teaching and these statutes, and to do them.”

The king was commanded to write for himself a copy of the Torah in order to emphasize to the most powerful in the land, that no one is above the law and all of us are equally bound by it.

Equal justice for rich and poor, powerful and powerless, citizen of the land and stranger who lives among us… this is the value of the Torah.

Parsha Shoftim Summary:

Laws regarding both sacred and secular legislation are addressed. The Israelites are told that in every dealing they should pursue justice in order to merit the land that God is giving them. (16:18–18:8) The people are warned to avoid sorcery and witchcraft, the abhorrent practices of their idolatrous neighbors. (18:9–22) God tells them that should an Israelite unintentionally kill another, he may take sanctuary in any of three designated cities of refuge. (19:1–13) Laws to be followed during times of peace and times of war are set forth. (19:14–21:9)

R’eih (Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: R’eih (Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17)

There will be no needy among you – for God will bless you in the land that God is giving you… (Deuteronomy 15:4)

There will never cease to be needy ones in your land… (Deuteronomy 15:11)

Here, in the course of just a few verses in this week’s Torah Portion R’eih, the Children of Israel are promised that there will never be poor among them… and that there will always be poor among them. Critics and commentators of the Torah have forever challenged the obvious contradiction between these two promises by God. The distance between this perfect world of a land without poverty or hunger and the seemingly hopeless future where there will always be needy in our world, seems all but impossible to bridge.

But the bridge from wealth to want resides right here within the text, just beyond the tiny dots at the end of each of these seemingly contradictory Torah verses. When you read the entire text, from the promise of prosperity to the persistence of poverty, a larger context emerges. 

The promise, “there will be no needy…” is followed by a call to righteousness, “if only you heed your God and take care to keep all this Instruction that I enjoin upon you this day.” That is to say, “there will be no needy if you build the world of justice and righteousness which I have declared for you in this Torah.”

And the recognition that “there will never cease to be needy” is followed by “which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land.”

The bridge from wealth to want, from prosperity to poverty, God places that destiny directly in our hands.

Parsha R’eih Summary:

God places both blessing and curse before the Israelites. They are taught that blessing will come through the observance of God’s laws. (11:26–32) Moses’ third discourse includes laws about worship in a central place (12:1–28); injunctions against idolatry (12:29–13:19) and self-mutilation (14:1–2); dietary rules (14:3–21); and laws about tithes (14:22–25), debt remission (15:1–11), the release and treatment of Hebrew slaves (15:12–18), and firstlings (15:19–23). Moses reviews the correct sacrifices to be offered during the Pilgrim Festivals—Pesach, Sukkot, and Shavuot. (16:1-17)

Eikev (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25)

In this week’s Torah portion Eikev, Moses recounts the story of the breaking of the first tablets of the Ten Commandments – and the making of the second tablets which came to replace them.

But perhaps you are wondering: “What happened to that first set of Ten Commandments, the broken pieces of the ones which Moses shattered?” The Talmud teaches that “both the whole tablets and the fragments of the tablets were placed together in the Ark.” Why keep the broken pieces, now that God had provided us new ones?

Remember how those first tablets were broken. We broke the commandments and Moses broke the tablets which contained them. We repented and resolved to follow these commandments with all our hearts, and God made us new tablets to represent that commitment. There is a lesson here on the meaning of brokenness and repair – and on the ability within each of us to repair the brokenness of our selves and our world.

Parsha Eikev Summary:

Moses tells the Israelites that if they follow God’s laws, the nations who now dwell across the Jordan River will not harm them. (7:12–26) Moses reminds the people of the virtues of keeping God’s commandments. He also tells them that they will dispossess those who now live in the Land only because they are idolatrous, not because the Israelites are uncommonly virtuous. Thereupon, Moses reviews all of the trespasses of the Israelites against God. (8:1–10:11) Moses says that the Land of Israel will overflow with milk and honey if the people obey God’s commandments and teach them to their children. (10:12–11:25)

Va-et’chanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: Va-et’chanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.
Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One.

(Deuteronomy 6:4)

In the Torah scroll, in every Torah scroll, the Shema is written in a unique and special way. The last letter of the first word, (which is an ayin) and the last letter of the last word (which is a dalet) are written larger than all the other letters in the text. We are not sure when or why this tradition for writing the letters of the Shema first began, perhaps simply to draw attention to these essential Jewish words on the Oneness of God. But why these particular letters? Because together these two letters form the word eid, which means “witness.”

The Shema teaches us that being a witness to the Oneness of God means doing the things, and being the people, that demonstrate God’s presence in the world.

Parsha Va-et’chanan Summary:

Moses pleads with God to let him enter the Land of Israel with the people, but God once more refuses his request. (3:23–28) Moses orders the Children of Israel to pay attention and follow the laws given by God in order to be worthy of the land they are about to receive. (4:1–40) Specific areas of the land are set aside to serve as cities of refuge. (4:41–43) The covenant at Sinai and the Ten Commandments are recalled. Once again, the people are exhorted to heed God’s commandments. (5:1–30) Moses speaks the words of the Sh’ma, the credo of Judaism, and commands Israel to show their love for Adonai and keep God’s laws and ordinances. (6:1–25) Moses warns the people not to commit idolatry by worshiping the gods of the nations they will conquer in Israel. (7:1–11)

D’varim (Deuteronomy 1:1−3:22)

/in /by

This Week’s Torah Portion: D’varim (Deuteronomy 1:1−3:22)

“Moses began to expound this Torah.” (Deuteronomy 1:5)

While still within the five books of the Torah, we see Moses giving commentary on the words of the Torah.

Since the days of Moses until our time, it is up to us, it is our duty, to insure that the Torah remains relevant to our lives by continuing to explore and study it and make the teachings and laws of the Torah meaningful for our lives.

Parsha D’varim Summary:

Moses begins his final words of instruction to the Children of Israel, focusing first on recounting their physical journey. (1:1–21) Moses reviews the people’s reactions to the negative reports of the spies and the appointment of Joshua to succeed him. (1:22–45) Moses recounts that all of the Israelite warriors who left Egypt died, as God had intended, and the people continued their wanderings and defeated their enemies. (2:14–3:11) Moses reiterates that the Land of Israel was allocated to the Israelite tribes. (3:12–22)“Moses began to expound this Torah.” (Deuteronomy 1:5) While still within the five books of the Torah, we see Moses giving commentary on the words of the Torah. Since the days of Moses until our time, it is up to us, it is our duty, to insure that the Torah remains relevant to our lives by continuing to explore and study it and make the teachings and laws of the Torah meaningful for our lives.

Parsha D’varim Summary:

Moses begins his final words of instruction to the Children of Israel, focusing first on recounting their physical journey. (1:1–21) Moses reviews the people’s reactions to the negative reports of the spies and the appointment of Joshua to succeed him. (1:22–45) Moses recounts that all of the Israelite warriors who left Egypt died, as God had intended, and the people continued their wanderings and defeated their enemies. (2:14–3:11) Moses reiterates that the Land of Israel was allocated to the Israelite tribes. (3:12–22)