D'var Torahs

Wholehearted with Gd Parashat Shoftim gives us a beautiful and challenging command: “Tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha” “You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d.” The Torah then tells us not to turn to witchcraft, divination, or those who try to predict the future. Perhaps because underneath our desire to know what will happen is a desire to control what will happen. We want reassurance. We want to know that everything will work out the way we hope. We want to remove all

Parashat Re'eh: Seeing with the Eyes of the Soul Parashat Re'eh always comes just before Rosh Chodesh Elul, the month of introspection, self-awareness, and preparing our hearts for the High Holidays. It is a time to ask, “Who am I, and how do I see myself, other people, and G-d?” In this week's parashah, the Torah teaches an unusual law: when we experience the death of a loved one, we are not permitted to harm our bodies in our grief. Mourning is part of our human experience

Don't Forget Gd At the heart of Parashat Eikev is one repeated message: Don't forget Gd. The Jewish people are about to enter the Land of Israel. The daily miracles of the wilderness will no longer be visible. Life will become more ordinary, and Moshe knows that the greatest spiritual danger is not hardship, it is forgetting. Moses speaks of what we need to do to keep Gd at the center of our lives. First, remember Gd in history. Remember the Exodus from Egypt. Remember the gi

From Mourning to Hope: We are Part of Gd’s Oneness Tisha B'Av is a day of profound mourning. We sit on the floor. We cry. We remember the destruction of the Temples, the suffering of our people, and the many tragedies that have taken place throughout our history. We do not minimize pain. We do not rush away from grief. We allow ourselves to mourn. The world is filled with war, suffering, loss, death, and so much that is broken. But Tisha B'Av does not end with mourning. At so

The Rebuke of Love Sefer Devarim is Moshe's final address to the Jewish people. His last will and testament. As he prepares to leave this world, he recounts their journey through the wilderness. His words contain rebuke, but it is striking that the rebuke comes from Moshe, not from someone like Bilaam, who despised the Jewish people. Perhaps, true rebuke can only come from someone who loves you. Moshe's words are not meant to criticize or diminish. They are the words of a lov