Judaism

Torah

Why Did the People Complain Over Manna?

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West Philly Rabbi Gives Benediction at Prayer Breakfast

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Does Birthright Stifle Teen Travel?

Torah

Emulate the Good, and Elevate the World

AHAREI MOT-KEDOSHIM, Leviticus 16:1-20:27

By:

Rabbi Joshua Runyan

Living within the world, yet apart from it: It's not an easy task. Politics, for instance, abounds with many examples of people who embarked on missions of change, only to become what they had originally crusaded against. But according to Judaism, such an outlook on life is necessary to both perfect the world and reach ever-higher spiritual heights. This week's...

Torah

It's About Words, the Power to Heal or Harm

EMOR, Leviticus 21:1-24:23

Blasphemy, blame and blessing: Can we break the cycle of violence? What is blasphemy? Most widely understood as disrespect for God or that which is considered sacred, blasphemy is in the international news. In January, a new law went into effect in Ireland stating that any abusive utterance concerning sacred matters of any religion is punishable by a fine of...

Torah

Laws of What and Who Are Pure and Impure

TAZRIA-METZORA, Leviticus 12:1-15:33

By:

Rabbi Danielle Stillman

When we read the double portion of Tazria-Metzora, it is easy to fixate on all the gory details of eruptive affections, white swellings and greenish streaks that the portions describe so meticulously. Our immediate reaction is "yuck." These yucky things throw us into a state of tamei, which is translated as "unclean" or "impure." We tend to think of purity...

Torah

There's Nothing So Pure as a Broken Heart

SHEMINI, Leviticus 9:1-11:47

By:

Rabbi Howard A. Addison

At first glance, one would be hard pressed to uncover any thematic unity between the beginning and the end of Parshat Shemini. The initial narrative describes a tragedy. On the day Aaron and his sons were to be sanctified as the priests of Israel, Aaron's two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, offered an unauthorized sacrifice and died approaching the altar...

Yom Hashoah

Yom Hashoah Marks Resistance, Survival

By:

Aaron Passman

Samuel Kassow, a professor of history at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., speaks a bit of everything. He's fluent in Yiddish, gets by in Polish, knows his way around Russian and Hebrew, and has a good reading command of German and French. But he won't need a translator when he speaks in Philadelphia this weekend; his message will be very...