This week’s parsha is Devarim: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 Devarim (1:1-3:22) – (Words): Haftorah: Isaiah 1:1-27 (Ashkenazi); Isaiah 1:1-27 (Sephardi) 1:1-12: Veiled rebuke 2:17-30: God commands Israel to march toward the Land 1:13-18: The appointment of judges 2:31-37: The first conquest Sihon…
This week’s parsha is Mattot-Masei: Numbers 30:2-36:13 Mattot (30:2-32:42) – (Tribes): Haftorah: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3 (Ashkenazi); Jeremiah 1:1-2:3 (Sephardi) 30:2-17: Vows and oaths 31:42-47: The people’s share 31:1-12: The battle against Midian 31:48-54: The commanders 31:13-20: Moses rebukes the officers 32:1-5:…
This week’s parsha is Pinchas: Numbers 25:10-30:1 Pinchas (25:10-30:1) – (Phineas): Haftorah: I Kings 18:46-19:21 (Ashkenazi); I Kings 18:46-19:21 (Sephardi) 25:10-15: Phinehas’ zealotry 28:9: The mussaf offerings 25:16-18: A new attitude toward Midian 28:10: Sabbath 26:1-50: The new census 28:11-15:…
In Rabbinic Judaism, the Midrash is the body of homiletic stories told by Jewish rabbinic sages to explain passages in the Tanakh. Midrash is a method of interpreting biblical stories that goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal, or moral…
This week’s parsha is Balak: Numbers 22:2-25:9 Balak (22:2-25:9) – (Balak): Haftorah: Micah 5:6-6:8 (Ashkenazi); Micah 5:6-6:8 (Sephardi) 22:2-19: Balaam 23:11-17: Balak’s anger 22:20-22: God’s ambiguous permission 23:18-24: Balaam’s second blessing 22:23-27: God impedes Balaam’s path 23:25-30: Balak’s anger and…
This week’s parsha is Korach: Numbers 16:1-18:32 Korach (16:1-18:32) – (Korach): Haftorah: I Samuel 11:14-12:22 (Ashkenazi); I Samuel 11:14-12:22 (Sephardi) 16:1-11: Rebellion in the Wilderness 17:15-26: A new proof of Aaron’s greatness 16:12-19: Moses summons Dathan and Abiram 17:27-28: The…
This week’s parsha is Shelach: Numbers 13:1-15:41 Shelach (13:1-15:41) – (Send): Haftorah: Joshua 2:1-24 (Ashkenazi); Joshua 2:1-24 (Sephardi) 13:1-15: The command to send spies to Eretz Yisrael 14:26-39: God spells out the decree 13:16-26: Moses prays for Joshua 14:40-45: A…
V. If we reject the first argument for a divine Oral Law that was given to Moses from God we are left with the definition of an Oral Law that came from the rabbis of old. The rabbis who contributed…
When I began my journey into Judaism many years ago I was skeptical of the so-called “Oral Law” or “Oral Torah.” However, as I plunged head first into my life as a soon-to-be Jew I began to take on the…
This week’s parsha is Tzav: Leviticus 6:1-8:36 6:1-4: The taking of the ash and the Altar fire 7:19-21: Eating in a state of contamination 6:5-6: The three Altar fires 7:22-27: Fat and blood 6:7-16: Meal offering, Sin offering 7:28-38: The…
