Video by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus ______________ This article is part of Ha’Am’s Friday Taste of Torah column. Each week, a different UCLA community member will contribute some words of Jewish wisdom in preparation for Shabbat.
Taste of Torah: the importance of being distinct
Our Torah reading this week is the combined parshiyot of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Acharei Mot begins by recalling the tragic death of two of Aaron’s sons, which was recounted a few chapters prior: “And the Lord spoke to Moses…
Taste of Torah: Rich man, poor man
Written by Akiva Nemetsky In the second of this week’s two Torah portions, Parashat Metzorah, we begin by reading about the purification process a metzorah (someone who is punished for speaking lashon ha’ra, denigrating speech) must undergo before being allowed…
Taste of Torah: moments of silence
Written by Soof Hacohen Yesterday, April 16, 2015, was Yom Ha’Shoah — Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. At around 11:00 a.m., millions of Israelis across the nation stood in silence for approximately 60 seconds to commemorate the six million Jews who…
Taste of Torah: Building the mishkan of life
Written by Kerry Chaplin, Hillel at UCLA Rabbinic Intern Anyone else looking for a job right now? A post-university job? A summer job? An internship? Me too. And it’s hard. Each position requires research, writing a cover letter, and reworking…
Taste of Torah: The golden calf and blind decision making
Written by Devorah Friedman, Ha’Am’s External Managing Editor This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, begins with the completion of the Tabernacle and ends with a description of Moses’ relationship to G-d and his devotion to the people he led through…
Taste of Torah: the ultimate leader
Written by Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Jewish Awareness Movement at UCLA In this week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, Moses’ name is not mentioned. The Talmud explains that after the sin of the Golden Calf in next week’s Torah portion, G-d was prepared…
Taste of Torah: Constructing a permanently portable sanctuary
Written by Moshe Kahn, Ha’Am staff writer This week’s Torah portion, Terumah (Exodus 25:1 – 27:19), recounts the instructions for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). This portable sanctuary was the focal point of Jewish communal activity until the permanent…
Taste of Torah: Money on fire
Written by Rabbi Dovid Gurevich, Chabad at UCLA This week’s Torah portion of Mishpatim contains a dramatic transition from last week’s climactic revelation at Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments to the seemingly mundane civil laws, torts, crimes,…
Taste of Torah: Approaching divinity
Written by Jon Sadik, third-year psychobiology major and vice president of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus When preparing to give the Torah to the Jewish people, G-d gives Moses a curious warning: “Set a boundary for the people roundabout…