In Parashat Bemidbar, we see the critical importance of separation from the holy, violated by Nadav and Avihu's bringing "strange fire" to the altar. This is directly connected to Havdallah, when we separate between the holy day of Shabbat and the rest of the week.

R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Bemidbar: Moderating Enthusiasm for God

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Traditionally, the fabric of Jewish observance is composed of 613 mitzvot and many many more granular instructions. To some of us, these small details are a core piece of what it means for us to serve God, while for others of us these details seem like both an abstraction and a distraction. Does God really care about ounces and inches?! Recorded as the introduction to the Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive in March 2024

R. Dena Weiss: The Torah is in the Details

Moshe’s unique status as the greatest prophet of Israel is challenged twice in this week’s parashah—but in neither case does Moshe himself seem to care.

R. David Kasher on Parashat BeHa’alotkha: Prophecy—A Family Business

What is Judaism ultimately about? What vision of the good life does it offer us, and why might that vision be especially crucial during these dark times? This discussion of Rabbi Shai Held's new book, Judaism is About Love, was held at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York City on March 26, 2024, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, facilitated by Sandee Brawarsky.

R. Shai Held: Love, Compassion, and the Future of Jewish Life

Parashat Naso is thematically structured in the form of two “exterior” chapters and two “interior” chapters.  A careful study of this design can provide insight into the larger significance of “מחנה ישראל - the Camp of Israel.” 
 


R. David Kasher on Parashat Naso: Out of the Camp

While I love learning Torah, I have a very poor memory for it.  More often than not, when I re-encounter a piece of Torah that I have surely learned before, it’s as if it’s for the first time.   Given on the one hand, my love for Torah and a genuine desire to learn Talmud and Midrash, Hasidut and Musar, and on the other, the inevitability that I will forget all of this Torah I learn, I find myself wondering on this Shavuot, what is the point?  What is the point of staying up late all night long learning Torah that I know at worst by next year’s time I will have already forgotten and, at best, will just become a shady shift-shaping memory of something I once learned?  Often I have the experience of feeling the shadows of Torah I once learned shimmering on the peripheries of my brain, so close and so far, unable to be recalled into concrete existence. 



R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Bemidbar: Moderating Enthusiasm for God

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