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.
Beating Life into Submission
Balak Numbers 22:2 - 25:9 The story of Balaam and his donkey is one of the most peculiar and intriguing stories in all of Torah. For one thing, the narrative throughout Torah is normally pithy and succinct, with no unnecessary details. The main story line ever since...
The Dissolving Power of the Light of Truth
Chukat Numbers 19:1 - 22:1 Thirty-eight years have passed since our last Torah portion, and the Israelites who had known the slavery of Egypt have all died. The new generation’s only memory of captivity in Egypt is the tales their parents left behind. Metaphorically,...
In the Shadow of Jealousy
B'haalot'cha Numbers 8:1 - 12:16 Arguably the most important event in the entire Jewish Bible is the moment of Matan Torah, when we were gifted with the Torah during the Revelation at Sinai. There, atop the trembling mountain wreathed in smoke, God spoke the Ten...
The Path of Mindfulness in Judaism
B'chukotai Leviticus 26:3 - 27:34 “If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit.” (Lev. 26:3-4) Thus promises the Eternal...
The Pursuit of Holiness
Kedoshim Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27 “The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the entire Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy.” (Lev. 19:1-2) Many rabbinic and scholarly commentators read this Divine...
We Are Energy Bodies
Metzorah Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33 Parashat M’tzora is usually read around the time of Passover, which means that it often coincides with our preparations for the quintessential Jewish festival. This spring cleaning is both an outer process of emptying our homes...
Joy and the Possibility of Forgiveness
Sh'mini Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 The ceremony to dedicate the Tabernacle and to ordain Aaron and his sons, which began in last week’s Torah portion (Tsav), was a protracted affair that lasted more than a week. Finally, on the eighth day (“BaYom HaSh’mini”), Moses...
The Light of Our Heart
Tzav Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36 In my approach to Torah, I see the text as myth, as spiritual parables, not reality. As such, the stories speak of universal archetypes relating to the human journey, and I often seek to unpack the deeper meaning of the text as if I...
The Fire of Divine Love
VaYikra Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26 In the last few portions of the Book of Exodus, we left the Israelites busily building a Tabernacle in the desert wilderness so that God could dwell among them in this Sacred Space. For us, the mythical outward Tabernacle of our forebears,...
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...