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…

The Hanukkah Heroine: Lost in Translation

2017 — what a year for women! Well, maybe not all women (sorry Hillary), but it was definitely a year of breaking the cliché fairy tale storyline and of redefining the character of a “leading” lady. Between Israel’s very own…

Taste of Torah: The Morality of Collective Punishment

Should ordinary citizens in a society be held accountable for the negative actions of their leaders? This type of question is consistently discussed by sociologists, moral philosophers and military strategists alike. One can find thousands of pages, written over the…