by RabbiOlivier | Jul 15, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Pinchas Numbers 25:10 – 30:1 Rabbi Moses There is a beautiful passage in this week’s Torah portion where God tells Moses to ascend a mountain and, from its peak, to gaze at the Promised Land before him. After that, God says to him, you “shall be gathered to your...
by RabbiOlivier | Jan 17, 2017 | General, Torah Reflections
Vayechi Genesis 47:28 – 50:26 Conditioned Happiness Last week as I studied the Torah portion, after reading numerous rabbinic commentaries, an image emerged of Jacob’s soul-to soul connection to his son, Benjamin. Upon reading this week’s portion and many more...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 18, 2016 | Adult Learning, Interfatith, Israel, Torah Reflections
Is it possible? After spending time in Tel Aviv this morning both at the Independence Hall where David Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel’s existence, and walking through the artists’ market of Nachalat Binyamin and the Carmel Suk; we drove north to the Galilee...
by RabbiOlivier | Aug 19, 2016 | General
Va-Et’chanan Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11 Because Love is our Natural State This week we find in our parashah the words that are at the center of our daily worship: the Sh’ma, and the first verses of the V’ahavta. While the Sh’ma is calling us to...
by RabbiOlivier | Jul 15, 2016 | General
Chukat Numbers 19:1 – 22:1 The Dissolving Power of The Light of Truth Since we left last week’s Torah portion and opened our books again to study this week’s, thirty-eight years have passed. The generation of Israelites who had known the slavery of Egypt has...