Ki Tisa – ‘Sin’ and the Western Sephardim
I used to think of the significance of Torah portion of Ki Tisa as being about the sin of the Golden Calf, and of how the people turned away from […]
Tag Archives: Parashah
Tezave – Moses and Moses Montefiore
Moshe Rabbenu, the great leader of the Exodus, is so prominent in the Torah, that once born, there is henceforth nearly no Torah portion in which he does not appear, […]
Mishpatim – Sephardim and Slavery
The Torah contains laws that govern slavery, whether captured in war or enslaved to pay off debts. In fact, it is no secret that Sephardim owned slaves. This is particularly […]
Yitro -The Minhag to Stand or to Sit
There are different customs with regards to standing or sitting during the Ten Commandments. The source of the standing/sitting debate is anchored in a Mishna. Tamid 5:1 states that originally […]
Lekh Lekha – The Secret of Circumcision
The practice of newborn male circumcision is synonymous with Jews and Judaism. The Torah records that the commandment of this procedure was first directed at Abraham and his family. Since […]
Shofetim – Immigration, Portugal, and Prohibitions
I finally feel like the proverbial Jew. For the first time in my life I am an immigrant! All joking aside, Jews are accustomed to relocating, whether forced to do […]
Behar – Let Freedom Ring!
In 1751 a bell was cast. The work was carried out by the firm Lester and Pack, today named Whitechapel Bell Foundry, located just a few blocks away from London’s […]
Shemini – Sephardic Responses to Suffering
In the face of his son’s deaths Aaron was silent, ‘vayidom Aharon’ (Vayikra 10:3). We don’t really know what he felt, whether anger, intense pain, or sadness, or perhaps a combination […]
Vayaqhel-Pekude – Substance and Style
The seeming repetition of the construction of the Mishkan provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon its architecture and what we can learn from it. There were essentially two […]
A Jewish Eulogy for Spock
The recent passing of Leonard Nimoy z’l occurred at a fitting time in the Jewish calendar. Nimoy played the iconic character Spock in the hit series Star Trek, the most […]
