Corporate Torah

  Parshat Noach Dvar Torah – A Rendezvous with Nature In this week’s portion, the Torah reading recounts the famous story of Noah and the flood. Society has fallen, becoming morally and criminally corrupt of the lowest order, and Hashem brings about the flood – wiping out his creation save for Noah, his family, and a pair from each creature of the earth which has boarded the Arc to weather the storm. As he comes out of the Arc, a rainbow appears on the horizon. Hashem tells Noah that this rainbow is a sign He is giving for His covenant with mankind that from now on, no matter what, the universe will not be destroyed. The modern commentator Rabbi Shimshon Rephael Hirsch challenges that the rainbow, as a physical reality, surely existed before flood as well. So why does the Torah speak of the rainbow as being something “given” now? Rabbi Hirsch answers that while nature hasn’t changed, human history and our relationship with G-d changes and nature takes on new meaning for mankind. T...

Shabbat Bereishit Dvar Torah – In the Image of G-d This week marks the beginning of the annual cycle of Torah reading. Once again we start from the beginning where the Torah recounts the esoteric story of creation. Amid the sweeping narrative of the universe coming into being, the Torah makes a fascinating declaration that mankind is created B’tzelem Elokim —"in the image of G-d." It is an inspiring idea, but also a mysterious one. Since we believe that Hashem has no physical body or form, what does it mean to be created in the "image" of G-d? Our classical commentators struggled with this question. Some, such as Sforno and Rashbam, suggested that the Hebrew word Elohim here refers to powerful beings like angels or judges. Another great commentator, Nachmanides, explains that this reflects the fundamental dialectic of mankind who is on the one hand rooted in the physical earth, yet animated by a heavenly soul. However, Rashi, the classic 11th-century comm...

October 7th Divrei Zikaron In Jewish tradition, the Talmud introduces a concept known as chazaka -  the idea that once an event or action occurs three times, it is considered an established pattern, and a reliably enduring reality. While rooted in Jewish law, it is also psychologically intuitive: after three times, things often settle into a routine. This year marks our chazaka year of commemorating October 7th. For the third time, we will pause in silence at 6:29 AM to remember the morning that changed our lives forever. Yet this year, the day feels different. With every hostage finally home, we are experiencing an important shift, beginning the difficult, necessary transition from actively living and enduring October 7th to collectively remembering it. Remembrance is woven into the very fabric of Jewish identity. Among the earliest commandments given to the Jewish people was to remember our liberation from slavery in Egypt and pass the story down through generations. We ar...

Hoshanna Rabba Dvar Torah Following Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur – the days of judgement and atonement, the Jewish People collectively come into the new year with a clean slate ready for new beginnings. Quickly, we transition from the solemnity of the High Holidays to the joy of Sukkot. Whereas on Yom Kippur we raise ourselves upwards as close as we can to G-d, on Sukkot we work in the opposite direction, building a Sukkah where Hashem can come close to us (see Sukkah 11b). Our prayers reflect this as well, with the centerpiece of Sukkot being the daily Hoshanot , literally calling out to Hashem to come and save us, culminating with Hoshanna Rabba, where we pray for rain – or in modern terms the welfare of our economy and livelihoods. I heard an idea once that ten days after Yom Kippur, Hoshanna Rabba is a “check-in” from Hashem to see how we’re doing. As we transition from reaching heavenwards towards bringing Hashem into our daily lives, there’s a risk that we might fall back ...