D'var Torah

Commentary on Parshat Bereshit (Genesis 1:1 – 6:8) The story of humanity in the Torah begins with homelessness. The first two humans, Eve/Chava (“Mother of all life”) and Adam (“Earthling”) are unhoused vegetarian nudists living in bliss – and blissful ignorance – in the bubble of perfection of the Garden of Eden. There is no...

The question is not “who will live and who will die?” because we are all mortal creatures: “our origin is dust and dust is our end.” Rather, in this specific year ahead, what kinds of transience will we experience, and how will we weather it?

Commentary on Rosh Hashanah Torah and Haftarah readings. Reproductive rights have been hijacked. When someone mentions the phrase “reproductive rights,” the first things that usually come to mind are either birth control or abortion. However, the ability to prevent pregnancy is only part of reproductive rights. What about the right to have a child? This...

Commentary on Parshat Ki Tetze (Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19) Laws concerning women’s sexual misconduct are grim testimonies to women’s experiences in cultures where the lion’s share of power and privilege goes to men. But before we can know what to do with these laws, we must clarify what they say and to whom they apply....

Commentary on Parshat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8) “…My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation” (Deut. 26:5). This verse constitutes the kernel of the Passover Haggadah. When we tell our freedom story, we start...

Commentary on Parshat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9) Parshat Shoftim opens with the injunction of setting judges and officers within your gates (Deut. 16:18). The proximity of Parshat Shoftim to the month of Elul has given way to an interesting inner connection, brought by several Hasidic masters (Avodat Israel, Devarim, Shoftim 1 ; Sefat Emet,...

A d’var Torah for Parshat Re’eh No miracles this week. Just another Torah portion in Deuteronomy. The days of the big fancy parshiot are over.  No 90-year-old’s miracle births this week.  No walls of water, no giant holes opening up to swallow the rebels. Just a list of laws, as the Torah heads towards its...

A d’var Torah for Parshat Eikev Just over three years ago, I sat at lunch with my husband and my food turned to ash in my mouth. I listened in horror as a man announced his candidacy for our country’s highest office, and in almost the same breath, spewed a venomous slew of accusations against...

A d’var Torah on Shabbat Nachamu Clarence Office, Jr., of Miami, FL, served in the U.S. Army for three years in the 1970s and was honorably discharged. Like many veterans, Clarence tragically fell into drug use and was arrested for drug offenses. He served a prison term and paid his debt to society. Clarence now...

Tisha B’Av reminds us: You know what this awful pain feels like. First, every year, we are supposed to practice feeling the excruciating dissonance between the way things are and the way they should be. We have to feel the deep outrage and pain of the crying mother. But we must also be Rachel, weeping not only for her children, but naming the more compassionate way of being that we know, that we remember is possible.