by RabbiOlivier | Nov 22, 2016 | General, Torah Reflections
I have always had a complicated relationship with Masada. The site itself is remarkable. King Herod’s narcissistic paranoia brought him to build seven magnificent fortresses in different parts of Israel, and, if anything else, Masada has to be his crown jewel. The...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 17, 2016 | Adult Learning, General, Greater Community, Interfatith, Israel, Torah Reflections
Tel Aviv, Israel; November 17, 2016 What a miracle! I am re-reading these first few words—the date and the place where I am writing from—and I am moved by a sense of awe. Don’t get me wrong, my zealous Zionist years are far behind me. As an Israeli citizen, I have...
by katie@betalef.org | Nov 14, 2016 | General, Torah Reflections
Lech Lecha Genesis 12:1 – 17:27 Abraham: A Promise For The Future This week’s Torah portion marks the beginning of the Patriarchal story in the Book of Genesis. Abraham receives God’s call to leave his home and travel to an unknown land with the assurance of...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 4, 2016 | General, Torah Reflections
Noah Genesis 6:9 – 11:32 The Tower of Babel This week’s Torah portion speaks of two main events: The flood, and, in its wake, the dispersion of mankind following the Tower of Babel episode. It appears that both events are the Divine response to what humans...
by katie@betalef.org | Oct 31, 2016 | General, Torah Reflections
Bereshit Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 The Kabbalah of Creation I love the esoteric interpretation by Nachmanides—Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, born in Spain (1194-1270)—on the first verse of Genesis: In a beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [Gen. 1:1] Nachmanides...
by katie@betalef.org | Oct 12, 2016 | General
Al chet sheh-chatanu l’fanecha… For the sin we have sinned before you… There are 10 days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. During these 10 days we are asked to take an inventory of the ways we have missed the mark (sinned) this past year....
