Rabbi’s Torah Commentary

Tell me that the Bible has no satire; I dare you! Ok, now that I have your attention – over the course of these last two weeks, we cannot help but notice that the Torah text screams at us to pay attention! RaShI (medieval scholar) reminded us that the beauty of our Bible is that […]

I have a dear friend and colleague who will be moving to a new congregation. Everyone is excited for the new opportunity, new start, new relationships – new everything. There is one hitch; it is not new. She will be moving to a new congregation in the city in which she grew up. She will […]

I often point out that the word “Jew” never appears in the Torah. So, while many people use the term Israel and Jew as synonymous, literally speaking, it is just not so. Judah (from where the word “Judaism” comes) is the name of one of the tribes – one of Jacob’s sons. Jacob becomes Israel, […]

Our tradition teaches that the gates of atonement are always open. The only thing that bars our entry is our unwillingness to turn our behaviors for the good. In fact, we are not allowed to hold a grudge. If someone hurts us, our tradition requires us to look past it – not for his/her benefit […]

I found an interesting commentary the other day. I had never seen it or thought about it. I do know that the center word of the Torah is stomach (since everything Jewish revolves around the stomach), but I never thought about the total number of letters. According to the sages, there are 600,000 letters (counting […]

“I don’t want to share anything with you. I don’t want anything from you! I don’t need you!” If we have not felt like saying this to people, we have never lived or worked with others. Engaging with each other can be incredibly frustrating. We try to justify the sentiment by arguing that we are […]

As a hospital and police chaplain, I meet people in some of their most desperate moments. In the role of chaplain, I enter any given situation as Marc – not as Rabbi Marc. I am there to help folks in ways in which they need, whether or not they comport with my own beliefs. In […]

Many of us know the old saying, “When doors close, windows open.” We usually think about this phrase as we face/battle with some trauma or “closure” in life: losing family or friends, losing a job or financial insecurity, battling an illness, etc. Amidst pain, loss, or quandary, we look for hope. I would argue that […]

And God said, “Let there be light. There was light.” The first set of “Ten Commandments” actually happen in Chapter 1 of Genesis. According to the text, God spoke, and the world came into being. God spoke ten creations, and that is how our story opens. That said, God first creates light, but we don’t […]

Comrade Lenin stands before the crowd, victorious in his revolution. He announces to the people that it is time for Mother Russia to come together. He has a letter from Comrade Trotsky apologizing. It is time to make amends. He reads the letter. “Comrade Lenin, you were right. I was wrong. I should apologize.” The […]