Jewish Thought

This week’s Parsha is the only one that is dedicated to our second patriarch, Isaac, yet to a causal reader of the Torah text he remains largely an enigma. Mostly passive, the only noteworthy episode of Isaac’s life described by…

Does it help a husband and wife to decide not to argue? Or, in the long run, is it better that they agree to disagree? So substitute “God and Israel” for “husband and wife.” In Vayera we are told that…

Sometimes we need to go for ourselves, to get to ourselves.

Moti Zilberstein is an undergraduate student at UCLA In the very beginning of this week’s Torah portion, G-d tells Noach, “You shall make for yourself a “Tzohar” [usually translated as “a window”] in the Ark” (Genesis 6:16). But what does…

Last week, I was interviewing for a job at a pluralistic Jewish institution and was asked the following question: “About 10-15% of our students are not technically Jewish, so would you feel comfortable teaching them as if they were Jewish?”…

(Photo: Nepenthes) With Shavuot just a few days away and as we begin studying the book of Bamidbar, the book of Numbers, we are presented with an implicit question regarding the nature of receiving of the Torah. We all know…

Perhaps one of the most unique features characterizing Shavuot is the extensive “Omer” counting that leads up to the holiday. It is fascinating that the Torah does not prescribe a specific calendar date for Shavuot but rather dictates that it…

By: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan In less than 24 hours, Jewish communities throughout the world will come together to read Parshat Shemini. The portion stands as the climax of a long story that began in Exodus, chapter 25. In our portion,…

​Passover is a holiday filled with learning — friends and family gather to recount the story of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to freedom and to ask questions throughout the process. Following the Passover seder, the learning continues through…