Ki Tavo 5771 — Do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord
First published on the Rabbis for Human Rights – North America web site. “And it shall come to pass, if you shall give heed diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, to observe and to do all His...
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Nitzavim 5771 — Sentencing guidelines for Rosh Hashana
When someone in the USA commits a “Federal offense,” and are convicted of the crime, they are sentenced according to a standard set of Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines, which are...
View ArticleRe’eh 5772 — A day at a time
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. …Deuteronomy 11:26 The Ben Ish Chai (chief rabbi in Baghdad during the mid-19th century) says that we should not read this verse as if it is...
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Shoftim 5772 – Pursue Justice
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live, and inherit the land which the Lord your...
View ArticleKi Tetze 5772 – You shall not abhor the Edomite
Recent weeks have seen too many acts of hatred by Jews in Israel perpetrated against Palestinians: A Palestinian shepherd from the south Hebron hills was wounded in an attack by Israeli settlers Monday...
View ArticleNitzavim 5773 – the hidden things are for God, the revealed for us
Originally published on the Rabbis for Human Rights website: Deut. 29:28 “The hidden things are for the Lord our God, but the revealed things are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the...
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Re’eh 5773 – Who would choose a curse?
“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse;” …Deuteronomy 11:26 God tells us “do these things and you will receive blessings; do these other things and you will receive curses.” In the...
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Ki Tetze 5773 – Don’t crap where you eat
“And you shall have a spade among your weapons; and it shall be, when you will ease yourself outside, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover your excrement; For the Lord your God walks...
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Ki Tavo 5773 – Walk in God’s Ways
“You have declared the Lord this day to be your God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to listen to his voice…” …Deuteronomy 26:17 What...
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Nitzavim 5774 — Choose Life!
I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live. …Deuteronomy 30:19 There are some...
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Ha’azinu 5774 Teshuva (Repentance) From Love
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have fallen because of your sin. …Hosea 14:2 This week is “Shabbat Shuvah,” the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The time when we are...
View ArticleVaetchanan 5775 – Thou Shalt Not Murder
This has been a difficult week in Jerusalem. On Thursday an ultra-Orthodox man went on a rampage and attempted to kill six people at Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade. One of my daughters and I were about...
View ArticleGeese, ganders and administrative detention
First published on The Jerusalem Post on August 20, 2015. by Rabbi Barry Leff. There’s a saying in English: “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Which explains my initial positive...
View ArticleDevarim 5776 – Tisha b’Av and Geopolitics
On this day, 2,602 years ago, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed for the first time. On this day, 1,946 years ago, the Temple was destroyed for the second time. On this day, 1,883 years ago, the...
View ArticleEkev 5776 –“If you obey these commandments…”
Ekev is a great name for this week’s parsha. It means “will follow.” It’s the same as the word for heel, as in “on the heels of.” And that surely is the theme of this week’s parsha. The opening verse...
View ArticleKi Tetze 5776 – Divorce is a Mitzvah
I assume pretty much everyone here this morning knows I was in Israel last week. Some of you, but not all of you, know why. I was in Israel last week to fulfill a mitzvah found in this week’s Torah...
View ArticleKi Tavo 5776 – Religious Pluralism in Israel
There’s a country where Jews have been arrested for putting on a tallis or tefillin. There’s a country that has confiscated sifrei Torah from Jews as contraband. There’s a country where Jews are not...
View ArticleVaetchanan 5777 – The Oneness of God
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְי אֱ-לֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְי אֶחָֽד׃ Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is One …Deuteronomy 6:4 The most famous Jewish prayer is in this week’s Torah reading. These are probably the...
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