On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah

In this week's Torah portion Parashah K'doshim, Rabbi Rick Jacobs tackles what it means to live a truly Jewish life. In a Parashah filled with rituals, what do we learn about living a spiritual life? We cannot only focus on personal ethics, ritual, or justice - Rabbi Jacobs shares why all are needed to imbue our lives with holiness.

This week's Parashah, Acharei Mot, contains a verse prohibiting homosexual acts. How does the Reform movement understand this verse? Rabbi Rick Jacobs reminds us that taking any Biblical verse too literally robs us of our diversity and strength, and causes immense pain to those excluded and forced to live in the margins. Reform Judaism, like society at large, has evolved on this and other issues and become far more inclusive over time, making us all stronger.

On Passover, it's traditional to read from Song of Songs, with themes of love and spring running throughout. This week, Rabbi Rick Jacobs reminds us that the themes in this megillah (scroll) match the themes of Passover - of beauty, renewal, and rebirth are key to the season, but also remind us of the love that runs throughout our entire lives.

This week is Passover and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, with special guest Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, discuss the Torah portion read on Passover, focusing especially on the themes of power and powerlessness. What are we obligated to do when we are in a position of powerlessness? And on the flip side, what are we obligated to do in an unjust system when we aren't those who are oppressed? What are our obligations when we are free? How do we build a liberated society?

This week is Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat right before Passover. Rabbi Rick Jacobs notes this is the time when many of us are getting ready for Passover and cleaning out our chametz - leaven goods. But cleaning is about more than just getting rid of leftover bread. It's about getting spiritually ready, and cleansing ourselves of our own unnecessary habits or baggage.

In this week's Torah portion, Parashat Tazria, we learn about tza'ra'at, or leprosy. The weekly Mi Shebeirach prayer asks for healing, and we view prayer and visiting as part of the healing process. But is healing the same thing as a physical cure? Rabbi Rick Jacobs discusses healing as an ongoing, spiritual process, complete with connections to the community and to God.

In this week's Torah portion, Parashat Sh'mini, we learn about the sudden deaths of Nadav and Avihu, two sons of Aaron the High Priest. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch wrote that their sin was innovation. But innovation is also a key part of Jewish life and renewal over the centuries. Rabbi Jacobs encourages us to think about how we can continue to reboot and rekindle Jewish life.

This week's Torah portion, Parashat Tzav, is read around Purim, a story of mythic (and even improbable) proportions that remains enduringly relevant to Jewish Diaspora life and anti-Jewish persecution throughout the centuries. Rabbi Rick Jacobs talks about how sometimes, just like Esther, we are called upon to make risky, dangerous, and courageous choices.

This parashah introduces many laws and rituals that might seem irrelevant to our modern lives, but what do these laws teach us? How do we bring them into our lives? A.J. Jacobs, acclaimed author of The Year of Living Biblically and Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey joins Rabbi Rick Jacobs to discuss the roles of laws, rituals, and gratitude in our lives.

Art exists beyond the binary of rational and irrational. Art has the ability to reshape our perspectives on our world - which is precisely why great artists have designed synagogues, museums, and other sacred spaces - including... the mishkan, the Israelite's portable ark