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Torah Reflections

Each week, Rabbi Olivier prepares a written reflection on the weekly Torah portion. These provide yet another way to discover the texts sacred to Judaism and to prepare for Shabbat each week.

Practices on the Way to Sinai

Pekudei Exodus 38:21 - 40:38 With parashat P’kudei, the Book of Exodus comes to a close. On the surface, these past weeks have told the story of our liberation from Egypt (Mitzrayim) and our experience at Sinai; yet at a deeper level, the text speaks of a spiritual...

Our Spiritual Attitude Toward Work

Vayak'heil Exodus 35:1 - 38:20   The construction of the Tabernacle is about to begin in earnest, and the people are eager to start, but first Moses calls them together to issue a strict command from the Eternal: even during the construction of the Mishkan, “for...

What if Moses Never Came Back?

Ki Tissa Exodus 30:11 - 34:35   When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him: Arise, make us a god who will go before us, for that fellow Moses—the man who brought us from the land...

The Transformative Power of Mitzvot

T'tzaveh Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 The title of this Torah portion, T’tzaveh, is usually translated as “Instruct!” or “Command!” The word t’tzaveh has the same root as mitzvah, which also is usually translated as “commandment.” But a mitzvah is more than a commandment. It...

At The Edge of The Wilderness

B'Shalach Exodus 13:17 - 17:16 When we approach biblical stories as myth, we no longer read the text literally but see it, instead, as the expression of a universal spiritual unfolding. Thus, the opening phrase of this parashah, “Now when Pharaoh let the people go…”...

The Chutzpah of the Separate Self

HaAzinu Deuteronomy 32:1 - 52 Chutzpah. Whether Jewish or not, almost everyone knows this Hebrew/Yiddish word. The dictionary defines it as “unmitigated effrontery or impudence, gall, nerve, courage bordering on arrogance.” But there is a much deeper understanding of...

How to Find God

Nitzavim-Vayeilech Deuteronomy 29:1 - 31:30 One of the fascinating things about Semitic languages is the way words grow from a root (usually three letters) so that additional letters qualify, illustrate, and expand the meaning of the basic root. Take for example the...

Living Extra-Ordinary Lives

Ki Tavo Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8 Sometimes it seems that the fast-approaching High Holy Days come way too early. The waning days of summer are still warm and inviting, kids are just starting back to school, gardens still need tending and harvesting—who has time to...

The Healing Power of Self-Awareness

Shof'tim Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9 Parashat Shof’tim is read around the beginning of the month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish year. Less than 29 days separate us from Rosh HaShanah, New Year’s Day, and Elul is a time of taking personal inventory in preparation...

The Power of Spiritual Transmission

D'varim Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22 “Eleh ha-D’arim—These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel….” (Deut.1:1) With these words we begin the fifth and final book of the Torah, in which Moses both retells and explains the foundational myth of the Hebrew people....

The Mystical Layers of Forty-Eight

Matot-Mas'ei Numbers 30:2 - 36:13 Parashat Masei is the closing section of the Book of Numbers, which many scholars believe was originally the last Book of Moses, i.e., the last book of the Torah. With the death of Moses, our history continued in the Book of...

We Are All Zelophehad Daughters

Pinchas Numbers 25:10 - 30:1 Parashat Pinchas describes yet another census of the Israelites, and this time there’s a fascinating twist. Five spunky women have the courage to challenge the status quo by insisting that their family name be included in the census. The...