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Torah Portion Devarim (“Deuteronomy”) / Erev Tisha b’Av
Edition LXXXXII: Coping with Crisis the Jewish Way
Date: August 4, 2022 / 7th of Av 5782
Author, Role: Rachel Raz, Regional Jewish Educator
Crises and life changes can be scary and difficult! This week’s Torah portion, Dvarim, and the upcoming observance of Tisha b’Av, can teach us about the Jewish way of coping during challenging times.
Tisha b’Av, the 9th day of the Jewish month of Av, is a day of fasting, mourning, and reflection. It commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, as well as other catastrophic events. Those events did not change our basic beliefs or cause us to abandon our traditions - they forced us to evolve, and they empower each of us to ask what we can do to make our world whole again.
Think about a time of crisis in your life, how you summoned your strength, searched for the light at the end of the tunnel, and were able to lead the way forward.
Torah Portion Va’etchanan (“And I Pleaded”) Edition LXXXXIII: Modern Jewish Wisdom
Date: August 11, 2022 / 14th of Av 5782
Author, Role: Zina Segal, Senior Director of Jewish Education
This Torah Portion is full of reminders about different Laws: Ten Commandments and Shema Yisrael are among them. Before entering the Promised Land, Moses urges the Jews to obey these laws faithfully as they will be “proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples”. For thousands of years, the Jewish People were serious about keeping the laws of Torah wise and relevant by studying them, applying them to different modern day situations, and constantly discussing.
What are the most wise Laws of Jewish Tradition? What are you doing in your life to keep them relevant and modern?
Torah Portion Eikev (“Consequently”)
Edition LXXXXIV: The Importance of Gratitude
Date: August 18, 2022 / 21st of Av 5782
Author, Role: Matt Bonney-Cohen, Base Program Director
“You shall eat and be satisfied, and then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land God has given you.” (Deuteronomy 8:10)
This mitzvah (commandment) in this week’s Torah Portion teaches us about the importance of gratitude in everything we do. We acknowledge that we are sustained by the food we eat, and that our experience is greater than just that. Birkat HaMazon (giving of thanks after meals) focuses us on all factors that have contributed to this moment, like the land from where the food came and the people with whom we share the meal.
When you finish dinner this Shabbat, try taking one minute to express gratitude for all that it took – Divine, human, and otherwise - for you to have eaten and be satisfied.
Torah Portion Re’eh (“See”)
Edition LXXXXV: Look! A Choice.
Date: August 25, 2022 / 28th of Av 5782
Author, Role: Elyssa Hurwitz, Jewish Educator
In sentence one of Parashat Re’eh, God says “Look! Today I am putting in front of y’all’s faces blessing and curse.” The rest of the parashah has rules around food, celebration, learning, time, and interactions with others, and another glance asks us to question our daily opportunities.
God’s statement is: “Consider! Pay attention to your actions. Contemplate your words. Scrutinize your behavior. Recognize your impact. Inspect how you dwell internally and perform externally.”
This Shabbat, I hope that each of us can observe how we can choose to become more conscious of how we show up in the world and why we make certain decisions.
Torah Portion Shoftim (“Judges”)
Edition LXXXXVI: Be the Change
Date: September 1, 2022 / 5th of Elul 5782
Author, Role: Wally Liebhaber, Latin American Regional Jewish Educator
Although all sections of the Torah are essential, Parashat Shoftim contains within its lines a principal value of our Tradition: Justice. “Judges and Guardians, you will put in all your gates” (Deuteronomy 16:19). We are called to build a city and society with total justice and security in the streets. Later, our Sages tell us that this sentence is not only speaking of gates for cities, but also the gates of our souls.
Building a better society begins with a seed within us as we become better souls, as Gandhi once said: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I invite you to ask yourself: What do you want to start changing so that you feel closer to yourself and your potential? How will you start striving toward that commitment, and what may get in your way? How will nourishing the seeds in your soul bring more justice to societies outside of yours?
Torah Portion Ki Teitzei (“When You Go Out”)
Edition LXXXXVII: Lest You Fall
Date: September 8th, 2022 / 12th of Elul 5782
Author, Role: Faustine Sigal, International Director of Jewish Education
This week, we read about the obligation to build a fence around the rooftop of one’s house “so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it.” Someone falling from the roof not only puts their life at risk, but also the lives of those below. The Torah tells us that each of these is a risk for the house’s owner which illustrates just one of the privileges that comes with engaging in a Jewish view of radical responsibility for how we might be enabling actions or compromising on our morals.
When you build your Moishe House, what reality are you radically bringing to life? Additionally, what are you building alongside the house itself to prevent anyone from the dangers of falling from your community?
Torah Portion Ki Tavo (“When You Arrive”)
Edition LXXXXVIII: What’s Your Story?
Date: September 15th, 2022 / 19th of Elul 5782
Author, Role: Rabbi Frankie Sandmel, Base Rabbi
When the Israelites offer certain sacrifices, they’re instructed to recite a story about themselves. Briefly it goes: My ancestors went down to Egypt in small numbers, became a great nation there, were afflicted and oppressed, God heard our cries, and we were redeemed.
Though we no longer make these sacrifices, we still recited these lines – they are the core of the Passover Haggadah and we mention being freed from the oppression of Egypt every chance we get.
We all have stories we tell about ourselves over and over again; they shape how we move through the world and how we understand ourselves. What are the stories that you tell about who you are and what made you you? How does that story guide you?
Torah Portion Nitzavim (“[You All] Stand Upright”)
Edition LXXXXIX: The Torah Inside Us
Date: September 22nd, 2022 / 26th of Elul 5782
Author, Role: Rabbi Dave Yedid, Base Rabbi in Denver, Colorado
Parashat Nitzavim powerfully reminds us that mitzvah – according to Ramban (a Rabbi and Torah commentator from 13th Century Spain), the entire Torah— is not meant to be brought down from the heavens nor schlepped across the sea to be imparted and observed. We learn instead, “the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” (Deut 30:14)
Torah is not just given, it is already inside all of us. It is what we do with our bodies, speak with our mouths, and feel with our hearts. Even when Torah, God, or holiness feel far away, may the Torah inside us taste sweet, and inspire us to embody and speak it. May we be comforted by the knowledge that it was already there.
Torah Portion Vayeilech (“Then [Moshe] Walked”)
Edition LL: “Hakhel: Who, Why, and How?”
Date: September 30th, 2022 / 5th of Tishrei 5783
Author, Role: Elyssa Hurwitz, Jewish Educator: United States
Toward the middle of Parashat Vayeilech, Moses tells the Israelites that every seven years there will be a Shanat Shmitah – a year of release, rejuvenation, rest, and reset – and then there will be time during the holiday of Sukkot where we will need to hak-hael, “gather.” Moses says, “Gather the People – the men and the women and the children and your strangers that are within your gates...” (part of Deut 31:12).
The Shanat Shmitah of 5782 just came to a close, which means that we are coming closer to the time when Moses says we need to gather people. Not just random people, but these specific people. In our lives here and now, I can’t help but wonder: Who, why, and how?
So I ask you: Who are the people in your life that come to mind when Moses specifies which people need to be gathered? Why could you imagine wanting or needing them to be with you at this time in your life? How would you like to gather them?
Torah Portion Ha’azinu (“You All Must Listen!”)
Edition LLI: The Gift of Listening
Date: October 6th, 2022 / 15th of Tishrei 5783
Author, Role: Tanya Zaytseva, North American RSJ Community Manager and Educator, Tanya Zaytseva
Listen.
[pause]
Before their paths are separated forever, Moses chooses to begin the last speech ever delivers to the Israelites with the word "Listen." There is urgency in this particularly powerful verb, and Moses needs their hearts (in Hebrew “simu lev” means “place your heart”) and ears (the root of “haazinu” is the same as in “ozen” - ear) to be in sync for the last time. Moses not only needs to be passively heard, but to be actively listened to.
This Shabbat, think about the value of earnestly and intentionally listening to others. Practice perceiving each act of communication as a moment that will never repeat itself in the same way, and give others the gift of meaningful and conscious listening.
Torah Portion Ve’zot Ha’Bracha (“And This Is The Blessing”)
Edition LLII: From Ending Through Beginning
Date: October 13th, 2022 / 18th of Tishrei 5783
Author, Role: Elyssa Hurwitz, Jewish Educator: United States
The final portion in the Torah, Parashat Ve’zot Ha’Bracha, begins with the words “And this is the blessing which Moses, a man of The God, blessed the Children of Israel [with] before his death” (Deut 33:1).
This is the blessing which brings in the ending of Sukkot, and also starts the festivals of Hoshanah Rabbah, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (depending on where in the world you live). This is the parashah which concludes the annual cycle of reading the Torah, and also kicks off the next round of readings (Deut 33:1-34:12; Gen 1:1-2:3; Num 29:35-30:1). This is the sentence which commences Moses’ death, but also... haven't we known about the ever-nearing end of his days for more than an entire book of the Torah?
In their entirety - truly from beginning through ending and back again - Jewish traditions are rooted in their undefined boundaries. One book of the Torah leads to another, one holiday into the next, one stage of life to the one after that... but Judaism doesn’t always have a hard stop or start – it has lots of in-betweens.
Over the next week, spend some time taking note of what it feels like to exist in the unknown, the fuzzy, the flowing, the not-this-not-that of that moment in time during this time of year.
Let it sit in you while you sit in it, and try to take notice of it [without judgment].