Corporate Torah

Shabbat Parshat Shemini Dvar Torah Following the tragic death of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu the Torah relates that (Lev. 10:3) “Aaron was silent”. There are many ways for acknowledging and commemorating tragedy, and the Torah teaches us that intentional silence, one which is noticed and recorded, is an appropriate response – especially when words fail us. Yesterday on Yom Hashoah all of Israel stood in silence at 10 AM to remember the Holocaust and this Tuesday evening we will stand silent again to remember Israel’s fallen on Yom Hazikaron – including 319 soldiers and 79 civilians from this past year. By stopping everything we do whether at school, on the side of the road or in the office, we acknowledge the enormity of the moment even if we don’t know what to say. Shabbat in/out times Yerushalayim 18:39/19:55 Ein HaShlosha 18:49/19:57 Berlin 20:04/21:24 London 19:56/21:13 NYC 19:28/20:32 Chicago 19:22/20:29 Mexico City 18:39/19:32 More shabbat times here

Shabbat Shvi'i Shel Pesach Dvar Torah When the Israelites left Egypt, Pharaoh and his army gave chase. Only on the seventh day (tonight) were his armies vanquished at the splitting of the sea and the Children of Israel completely released from the bondages of slavery. Their first act of true freedom was to sing the spontaneous song of the sea. The uniqueness of song is that it preserves the emotion of a particular moment for future recollection, both within and beyond generations. By singing the song of the sea (as we will do in tomorrow’s Torah reading) we connect ourselves back to that singular moment, and hopefully fill ourselves with inspiration to translate the freedom of Pesach into personal and communal meaning for the rest of this coming year. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Shabbat Parshat Tzav, Shabbat HaGadol, Erev Pesach Dvar Torah While the content of the Haggada is focused on storytelling the past, its message is primarily forward looking. We open the story by explaining the Matza in Aramaic saying “This year here, next year in Eretz Yisrael” and close the Hallel by famously proclaiming in Hebrew “Next year in Jerusalem”. We tell the story of the past to inspire the future.G-d willing may all the empty chairs at this year’s Seders, indeed be filled next year in Eretz Yisrael Shabbat Shalom! 

Shabbat Parshat Vayikra Dvar Torah This week begins the book of Leviticus, focused primarily on laws of worship in the Mishkan and Temple. Of note, the Torah prescribes special sacrifices for the King, High Priest, and Sanhedrin who accidently err or sin. The message is clear – nobody is above the law and the leaders of society must be role models when they inevitably will make mistakes. Specifically for a king the Torah ( Lev. 4:22 ) uses the language of “ Asher Nasi yechata ” translating into “When a Nasi (king) will sin” – indicating that this is an expected occurrence which should be met with a prescribed solution – admission of the mistake and repentance. The Talmud ( Horayot 10b ) takes this one step further homiletically interpreting “ Asher”  (when) as “ Ashrei”  (fortunate), noting that  all of society  is fortunate when a leader publicly admits mistake. The Talmud goes on to teach that this is indicative of an upright society where all from the simpleton...