In this week’s parsha, Tazria, we are quickly confronted with laws and procedures dealing with tzara’at. The initial verse regarding this phenomenon is as follows: אָדָם כִּי־יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ־סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת וְהוּבָא אֶל־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אוֹ אֶל־אַחַד מִבָּנָיו…
I Wrote This On Shabbat
Even as a child, lighting candles on Shabbat with my grandmother and mother as a ritual held a meaningful place in my heart. While my family never strictly adhered to every single rule of Shabbat, we observed it through the…
Taste of Torah: Vayakhel and Pekudei
By Rabbi Levi Haskelevich, Chabad at Penn This week’s Shabbat is packed with multiple ritual and historical significant components that all come together in a very special way. Two Torah portions: Vayakhel and Pekudei, the final portions in the Book…
Hot states, cold states and the golden calf
Tax season is upon us. Not only do we read Form 1040 instruction manuals this time of year, but if you pay attention during this week’s Torah reading, you will see that we also read about a tax of more…
Is it Purim Already? On Judaism and Drinking
Alcohol and religion do have somewhat of a love-hate relationship, not unlike alcohol’s relationship with college. It’s true, alcohol (wine especially) does tend to play a role in a lot of religious practices and rituals. For the most part however,…
Taste of Torah: Humility and the Menorah
The third Aliyah of this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, goes into great detail while describing the elaborate instructions for the construction of the Menorah. However, Rashi comments that Moshe just threw a block of gold into the fire, and the…
Taste of Torah: A Unified Nation
Reform. Conservative. Reconstructionist. Orthodox. Unaffiliated. Just Jewish. Not that Jewish. We all have been asked the question before, “What kind of Jew are you?” And we’ve all responded, sometimes enthusiastically and sometimes hesitantly, with how we label ourselves. Imagine if…
Tu’ B’shevat: Fruit for Thought and Wellness
While we may not feast on the greasy and fatty foods we look forward to scarfing down during other holidays, on Tu’ B’shevat we celebrate the one Jewish holiday where healthy eating habits are encouraged to honor the day, the…
Look For God
In the very beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, God takes the Jewish people out of the land of Egypt in order to bring them to Eretz Israel. One way to get to Eretz Israel was to cross through…
Keep the Labels on Food, Not Ourselves or Each Other
Click here to see Ha’Am’s Fall 2017 Print Edition: “Growing Pains” There are a surprising number of labels that a Jewish person can use to describe their Jewish identity. It can range anywhere from the typical “Orthodox,” “Conservative,” and “Reform” denominations, to…