Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Va-yera [Genesis 18:1-22:24] is filled with interesting material: the announcement of the birth of Isaac, Abraham’s conversation with God about the fate of Sodom & Gomorrah, the second wife-sister story, the banishment of Ishmael and Hagar, and the Binding of Isaac [these latter two which we read on Rosh Hashanah]. Our focus this week was on the opening scene and what we can discover about the relationship between Abraham and Sarah. We did not move far from this topic and hope you will find that we had interesting things to say!

On the 404th day of the war, we continue to be mindful of the hostages, may they be returned speedily to their families, and the soldiers defending Israel as members of the Israel Defense Forces, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat No’ach [Genesis 6:9-11:32], the second parashah in the Book of Genesis, primarily deals with the flood, the great cataclysm in which God destroys the world he had so carefully created in the opening chapters of The Torah. Noah, in whom God has found favor, is instructed to build an ark and to enter it with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and representatives of all the land animals and birds [there is some disagreement about the actual numbers]. The world is then destroyed by a massive rainstorm which inundates the earth. The ark finds a resting spot on Mt. Ararat. At some point Noah is instructed to leave the ark, after which he makes sacrifices to God. The last chapters of the book include the repopulation of the earth with the mention of the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japhet; the story of the Tower of Babel, and the 10 generations from Noah to Avram, setting the stage for Avram’s dramatic entrance next week.

We continue to be mindful of the hostages, may they be speedily returned to their families, and the soldiers defending Israel as members of the Israel Defense Forces, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk Lekh Lekha with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky.

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Parsha Talk Bereishit - with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. After the holidays of Sh’mini Atzeret and Simhat Torah [Thursday and Friday, October 24 and 25], we begin the annual Torah reading cycle with parashat Bereshit [Genesis 1:1-6:8]. What kind of world has God created for us and what is our particular role in it as human beings. We spent a fair amount of time trying to unpack the Cain and Abel story, which I have long found one of the stranger stories in the Torah. What exactly is its Torah? What is it designed to teach us? Give a listen and let us know what you think!

As the war continues we remain mindful of the hostages, may they be speedily returned to their families, and the soldiers defending Israel as part of the Israeli Defense Force, may they be removed from harm’s way. As we conclude the holiday of Sukkot, may the sukkah of peace descend upon all troubled parts of the globe. Hag Sa’me’ah and Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Tomorrow night [Wednesday, October 16, 2024] begins the holiday of Sukkot, known in Jewish tradition as z’man simchateinu, the time of our rejoicing. The concluding days, Thursday and Friday, October 24-25, are Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Every year, these latter days mark the end of the long holiday season, which may be said to have begun on the first day of the month of Elul, the month preceding Tishri, when the shofar is first blown in the morning service to announce the upcoming penitential season. This year, they also mark the date on the Hebrew calendar on which the October 7th War began.

How does one find joy amidst such sorrow? We devoted our show this week to the holiday of Sukkot, discussing the question of how to celebrate in the wake of the war, as well as the symbolism of the sukkah and the 4 species [lulav, etrog, myrtle, and willow]. We will return to the weekly parashah next week, when the annual cycle begins with the opening parashah of B’reshit, the Book of Genesis.

We continue to be mindful of the hostages, may they be speedily returned to their families, and the soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Force, may they be removed from harm’s way. May the sukkat shalom, the Tabernacle of Peace, descend upon us. Chag Same’ach and Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. On this Yom Kippur edition of Parashah Talk we spend our time talking about Yom Kippur, Kol Nidrei, and forgiveness, among other things. Our hearts weigh heavily as we continue to think about and pray for the hostages in what is now their second year of captivity. May they be speedily returned to their families. May the soldiers in the Israel Defense Force be removed from harm’s way. May peace and quiet descend on all troubled places in the world in which we live. G’mar Hatimah Tovah. May your seal for the new year be one of goodness.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky.

We are winding our way to the conclusion of our annual Torah Reading. This week’s parashah, Nitzavim-Va’yelekh [Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30] is the penultimate Shabbat reading. The following Shabbat, October 5, is Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; that weekly reading, Ha’azinu, concludes the Shabbat weekly readings on the annual cycle here in the Diaspora. The final parashah, V-zot Ha-b’rakhah [Deuteronomy 33-34] is read on Simhat Torah, this year celebrated on Friday, October 25, 2024. It is a bittersweet celebration this year, as it marks the anniversary of the War in Israel on the Jewish Calendar.

Our conversation focused on a few pesukim [sentences] found primarily [or entirely] in parashat Nitzanim [Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20]. In particular, we discussed the theme of t’shuvah, repentance as it is generally translated, or return, which is both relevant to the Torah Reading and the season of the year.

We continue to be mindful of the hostages, may they be speedily returned to their families, and the soldiers fighting in defense of Israel, may they be removed from harms way. This is our last recording for 5784. We will resume our show after Rosh Hashanah. With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and a Shanah Tovah.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Ki Tavo [Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8] features, among other things, the ritual of the first fruits and the description of a one-time event to take place in the Land of Israel where the Israelites will assemble 6 tribes each on 2 mountains [Ebal and Gerizim for those of you keeping score] for a ritual recitation of blessings and curses that will descend on the people and the land, depending on the behavior of the Israelites. The text of the first-fruits ritual whose earliest date was the holiday of Shavuot was incorporated by the rabbis as the heart of the Haggadah, the ritual recitation on Passover. We split our conversation between these two very different recitations as we sought to find meaning in them for today.

We continue to be mindful of the hostages and the soldiers fighting in defense of the State of Israel. May the hostages be speedily returned to their families and the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky . In the words of my friend and colleague Rabbi Eliot Malomet, Parashat Ki Tetze [Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19] is mitzvah dense, containing 74 out the 613 commandments the rabbis found in the Torah, well over 10%. In our conversations we tried to extract meaning from this welter of laws by thinking about the story or stories that might be embedded in them. Among the laws we actually discussed was the ben sorer u-moreh, the stubborn and rebellious son, and the command to erase Amalek from our memory. What would the Israelite listening to Moses make of all these laws? What are we to make of them today?

As the war winds its way into its 12th month, we continue to keep in our hearts and minds the hostages who remain in Gaza, and the soldiers fighting in defense of the State of Israel. May the hostages be returned speedily to their families, and the soldiers removed from harm’s way. On this 24rd anniversary of 9/11, we also think of the many victims of that horrific day and their families, and those who continue to be affected all these years later. Shabbat Shalom

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Shoftim [Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9] ordinarily provides a lot of material for conversation and discussion. On his JPS Torah Commentary, Jeffrey Tigay divides the parashah into two: Civil and Religious Authorities [16:18-18:22] and Judicial and Miltary Matters [19:1-21:9]. Given the events of the past week, we turned to the haftarah [Isaiah 51:12-52:12] rather than the Torah reading for the framework of our conversation.

We continue to be mindful of the remaining hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the remaining hostages be speedily returned to their loved ones; may the soldiers defending Israel be removed from harm’s way. This sad week we dedicate our conversation to the memory of the six hostages murdered in captivity. May their families be comforted together with all those who mourn in Zion.

Shabbat Shalom..