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Rabbi's Torah
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Rabbi Marc Kline’s thoughts and views on this week’s Parashah!
Yesterday, I turned 60. I did not wake up to anything new. Despite reaching the milestone, I do not have any new aches or pains, no new insights than yesterday, and no discernible way to distinguish being 59 from being 60. Perhaps the only significant occurrence that set yesterday aside was that it was also […]
“Aelu devarim … These are the words …” We begin a new book of the Torah: Deuteronomy. In Hebrew, the name is “Devarim,” drawn from the first significant word in the text. Devarim means “words” or “things.” Moses begins the last book of the Torah by recounting the Torah story. He is about to leave […]
Forty years. We got back to the River Jordan. We stand ready to cross, as Moses will recount the whole story of our journey. It almost seems like a graduation ceremony. Each tribe stands prepared to go its own direction, as they here the school principal intone their journey through the wilderness (Primary and secondary […]
I had an idea for this week’s commentary that revolved around the role of women in the religious traditions of the world. A guy named Tzelophechad died, leaving only daughters. The tribe was going to take his estate and return it to the tribe. The daughters stood before Moses and God and demanded that they […]
Do our ears here what our mouths are saying? This line repeats throughout the Rabbinic tradition. We speak about “non-Israelite Biblical figures” as being the “other” when it comes to God. Yet, God speaks to Jacob’s father-in-law, to Moses’ father-in-law, and this week, to Bilaam. None are MOTs (Members of the Tribe), and yet, each […]
Torah teaches us that we are supposed to blot out the name of Amalek forever. The Amalekites were marauders who attacked the Biblical Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness. They fought unfairly, as they would raid the camps from the fringes, killing the weakest amongst the people and terrorize the rest. For their treachery, […]
“Ani Ma-amin b’emunah shlaemah – I believe with perfect faith.” Thirteen times Maimonides intones these words to speak about what he called the basic unwavering tenets of faith. Centuries of scholars debate his intentions and nuanced writings and come to philosophic blows over the “pilpul-minutiae” of each statement. What ultimately matters is the statement that […]
Moses married Tzipporah. Tzipporah was a Midianite, a distant cousin. The Biblical Midian is modern-day Saudi Arabia. He married her after fleeing Egypt. Having been raised as the grandson of Pharaoh, he rebelled, killed an Egyptian slave-master, and ran away. As per tradition, 40 years pass, and God calls Moses to go back to Egypt […]
The High Priest would come before the people, raise his arms, split his fingers into three sections, each hand resembling the Hebrew letter “shin” (representing “Shaddai” –one of God’s attributed names). He would then intone the most famous of priestly blessings. “Y’ varechecha Adonai V’yishmerecha…” He said, “May God bless you and keep you. May […]
“Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? One who learns from everyone, as it is said: ‘From all who taught me have I gained understanding’ (Psalms 119:99).” Pirke Avot 4:1 (1800-year-old Code of Ethics) One who learns from everyone. One – who learns – from everyone. One who learns from – everyone. One who learns from […]