D’Var Torah for Sisterhood Shabbat Morning Service
Parshat T’tzavveh
Gertrud Lind
Saturday, February 8, 2014

Shabbat Shalom, and welcome to the service led by Women of Reform Judaism. It was chaired and organized for the fifth year in a row by Liza Robbins Theuman. Thank you so much, Liza, for the countless hours you devoted to the success of this service.

Thank you also to all of the other members who made this morning happen, they are listed in the program. Special thanks to Gene Spiro and Julia Walsh for leading us in music, to Jill Kravetz and Barbara Baron for overseeing the Kiddush to which all of you are invited, and to Athene Goldstein, Rabbi Gutterman, and Keri Berger for their guidance and support. read more

D’var Torah for Parshat Va-y’hi
Genesis 47:28 – 50:26
November 12, 2013
Cathy Harris

The more I reflected on today’s parsha (Va-y’hi), the more I thought of the importance and prevalence of deception and misdirection in Torah.

Lies and deception in biblical times. In our times. In all times. When God came to call on Adam and Eve after they ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam knew he’d messed up. So, he blurts out, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” In other words, “it was her fault!” read more

Parshat Acharey Mot: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
April 12 2014
Cathy Harris

In Acharey Mot, we read about our ancestors’ rituals

of purification from sin. We are also warned to abstain from certain sexual practices. At this time of year, as spring approaches and our spirits lift, we also celebrate Pesach. We recall our slavery and how we were freed. We celebrate justice. Today, we’re going to pull all of these topics together.

In Rabbi Shefa Gold’s Torah Journeys, she says: “After describing the ritual of purification, Acharey Mot continues with instructions about holiness in sexual relations. Decisions about intimacy must be made as part of our pursuit of holiness, which means our motives must be pure, our intentions clear and the implications considered regarding our actions and their effects on the whole.” [Gold] read more

Let’s Hear It For Tazria
A D’var Torah
(Leviticus 12:1-13:59)
Nick Clark
Temple B’rith Kodesh, Rochester, NY
March 29, 2014

Today I’d like to dedicate my d’var Torah for Tazria to Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman, Suzanne (my wife) and my friends in our Tanach and Torah study groups.

As I was reading the Parsha for today and doing some research on it, I came upon the first line from a bar mitzvah boy’s d’var Torah…
This is the grossest part of the Torah!

I couldn’t agree with him more. read more

Parshat Vayakhel
G-d Commands us to Show “Audacious Hospitality” to our Fellow Jew
(Exodus 35:1-38:20)
Doug Gallant

“Va’yakhel Moshe Et Kol Adat B’nei Yisrael”, And Moshe gathered together the entire congregation of Israel”. The message of this gathering was that we needed to re-discover the true meaning of Jewish unity. Kehillah is more than just being gathered together. It represents the idea that we are a community, with, ultimately, the same purpose, and the same goals. read more

A Mash Up:
Hyper-Pluralism, Righteous Justice and the Canon of Parshat Va-y’hi
(Genesis 47:28 – 50:26)
Cathy Harris

When we look at the founding of our own United States, we see how clever James Madison was in touting “pluralism” as a demographic ideal while assuring the founders that it would tip the playing field towards landowners. Madison’s solution to class conflict, “hyper-pluralism”, was to make it difficult for the majority to find a common interest or to act successfully on it. read more