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L’Shana Tova & Shabbat Shalom

A Torah Queeries drash on Parashat Devarim 6 Av, 5767 Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 Crossposted from Jewish Mosaic And God said unto Moses: it is time for a travelogue, so that the Israelites may see where they have been, and what they have done, and that you have been a good and worthy tour guide to them. [...]

We’re in Israel for part 2 of the Israeli/Palestinian Comedy Tour! This has been a whirlwind. With show locations ranging from Haifa to Be’er Sheva, including Ra’anana, Tel Aviv, the Ambassador Hotel, Jerusalem and on and on. The show was nicely blogged on Jewschool. We also made TWO trips to fabulous West Bank city of [...]

A Torah Queeries essay by Marisa James Shabbat Behar-Behukotai Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34 22 Iyyar 5767 The teachings in this week’s paired parshiyot, Behar and Behukotai, are meant to prevent us from becoming greedy. At the beginning of Behar, literally “in the mountainâ€? at Sinai, the first thing God tells Moses is “When you enter [...]

The Dean of the H.L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary called me this week. I had just walked out of the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center, and when he told me that I had been accepted into cantorial school I jumped up and down on the sidewalk, drawing interesting looks from [...]

I love a challenge, but sometimes I get in over my head as a result. Where did I leap this time without looking? Directly into next week’s joint torah portions, the infamous and dreaded Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. This is the source of the line that is most frequently used as ammunition against the queer [...]

This week’s parsha is a double portion that finishes the book of Exodus (Shemot.) Most of it tells the story Bezalel and Oholiab, the two Hebrews in charge of building the tabernacle (Mishkan.) We read of all the ritual objects created for the Mishkan and of the structure itself, which was the early model for [...]

A Torah Queeries essay on this week’s parshiyot by Marisa James 27 Adar 5767 Vayakhel-Pekudei Exodus 35:1 – 40:38 When I first read this week’s joint parshiyot, with their detailed lists of the sockets, pegs and posts that go into building the Mishkan, I could only imagine that the children of Israel had somehow ended [...]

This week Moses’ relationship with his girlfriend G*d settles in to become downright domestic. After the golden calf unpleasantness She virtually disowns the Hebrews. But then, because Moses has her number, she relents and agrees not only to let the Hebrews live but also to accompany them to Canaan. Finally, as an extra treat just [...]

This week we publish from KOACH Kallah 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania. We’ll be talking to the young college Jews about our favorite biblical comic. In this week’s parsha, Moses is alone with YHWH in Her private, mountaintop abode. Does our god reveal to her favorite human the meaning of life? Does she allow [...]