Voices of WRJ
By Sandy Adland, 6/14/2019
This week’s Torah portion, Naso, focuses on four central themes. In the first section, God tells Moses to take a census of the Levites, issuing those of a specific age range (30 to 50 years of age) detailed instructions regarding the Tabernacle. The second section outlines the procedure for dealing with women who are suspected of adultery, thus bringing impurity to the community. The third section describes the laws of the Nazir/N’zirah (yes, a woman could also subscribe to this way of life) as well as God’s instruction to Moses to bless Aaron and his sons (the people of Israel) with the... Read More
By fredi Bleeker Franks, 6/07/2019
B’midbar, or "in the wilderness," is the name of both this week's Torah portion, the opening chapters of the Book of Numbers, and the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible. The Torah portion centers around two census counts ordered by God. The first count is the number of fighting men of the twelve tribes of Israel whose task is to guard the populace from outside enemies. The second count is of the number of males above one month of age of the tribe of Levi whose task is to assist the Kohanim [priests] in ministering to the tabernacle and guarding it from all outsiders. As I read the... Read More
By Madi Hoesten, 5/31/2019
B’Chukotai. One of the Torah portions that people avoid like the plague- (literally -like the chapters about the plagues). Here is a vision of G-d that we don’t want to embrace. The passages are full of blessings and curses. Do as I say and all will be well. Ignore me, and your world will crumble. Why do we have so much trouble with this? Is it because we don’t want to believe in a G-d that would be so heartless as to destroy us and our future generations if we stray from the path? Or is it that the responsibilities are so overwhelming that we think we will fail, and somewhere deep down... Read More
By Karen Goldberg, 5/24/2019
This week's Torah portion, Parashat Behar (“at the mountain”), speaks to the centrality of Eretz Yisrael in Jewish thought and deed. Although the Jewish people have lived in many other lands throughout much of our history and continue to do so today, we always have been profoundly aware of our link to Eretz Yisrael. Throughout the ages, intense love between Jews and our homeland has permeated our prayers, our Torah and our hearts. After traveling to Israel for the first time on a WRJ Mission in 2017, I myself have fallen in love with the land of Israel and its people. In this portion, we... Read More
By Deb Radin, 5/17/2019
“Love people. Cook them tasty food.” - These are the words, on a bumper sticker, that hangs above my cookbooks. As I think about this week’s Torah portion, Emor, I consider why this saying resonates so much with me. I think about my Bubby who taught me how to bake cookies and I think about my mother who also taught me how to bake cookies. For both, the time spent in the kitchen with me was precious and the baked goods we created were an expression of nurturing those they loved. From both my grandmother and mother, I learned how to follow a recipe’s rules, and with both women, I understood... Read More
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