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Rabbi's Torah
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Rabbi Marc Kline’s thoughts and views on this week’s Parashah!
It’s time for the Jewish High Holidays. It’s time for that “kheshbon hanefesh – our annual gut-check.” It’s time to figure out if we’ve done everything we can do to make the world a better place. Have we built a world of justice and dignity for ourselves and our neighbors? Torah commands us to pursue […]
We have to remember that if a hole exists under your seat in the rowboat, I am going to sink. Faith depends on my knowing that we are mutually dependent. The day I dismiss your dignity; I sink with you. This week the Torah’s message is simple. God says (through Moses), “You are all standing […]
“Amen.” “AMEN!” “amen.” “Amen?” How does one say that word? I guess, in part, it depends on what preceded it. Perhaps the bigger question revolves around what one intends in saying this universal word of affirmation. When someone says a prayer, and you answer, “amen.” What are your intentions? I am sure that it comes […]
I hate war. Yes, hate is a strong word, but truthfully, the only thing I hate more than war are war-mongers: people who thrive on the conflict for the sake of their own search for power over others. As I read the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, I knew that I had to respond. […]
I am struggling. I read the Bible, and I scratch my head. What part of this stuff don’t people get? In pretty explicit language, this week’s Torah portion instructs us to appoint judges and police officers who are not buyable and who will maintain order in the best interest of all of society – including […]
I love it when Torah says controversial things. Of course, it can say lots of things, and we can make it controversial or not. That said, I read this text to spark controversy. From Deuteronomy 15:7-10: “If, however, there is a needy person among you, in any of your settlements in the land that Adonai […]
I remember reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” series. I envisioned how Gandalf, Frodo, or Gollum might appear. Who might they resemble? The imagery describing Saruman, Nazguls, Orcs, and Elves might have been more intriguing than even the well-written plot of the book series. Aragorn was a handsome but ruddy, sturdy, and strident […]
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 […]