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…
Taste of Torah: Purposeful Meandering
Written by Rabbi Aaron Lerner, senior Jewish educator of Hillel at UCLA Most Americans strive for efficiency. The popular Israeli-invented app Waze, for instance, provides many of us with a significantly reduced commuting time. In fact, just yesterday, it directed…
Taste of Torah: Let my people go! A new look at an old story
Written by Daniel Levine, third-year cognitive science major and gabbai of UCLA’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Throughout the Exodus story, we are presented with multiple interactions between Moses and Pharaoh. On their surface, these meetings seem to comprise Moses…
Taste of Torah: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Heralded as a leader and revered in history as a paradigmatic hero, it’s hard to imagine that there was a time in Moses’ life marked with desperation. In this week’s…
Taste of Torah: Basking in the glow
Written by Sharona Kaplan, Rebbetzin for Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. What’s more emblematic of Chanukah than relaxing near a burning menorah and munching on latkes or doughnuts? The iconic menorah and the traditional oily foods reflect the ancient origins…