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This week we began reading the story of the Exodus from Egypt. And accordingly, this week’s parasha is filled with deeply important events that will set the Exodus in motion. But the central figure of parashat Shemot, the central figure of the book of Shemot, is Moses. And yet there are only 22 verses which [...]

x-posted from Torah Queeries
Cheshvan 2, 5769
Genesis 6:9-11:32, Comment on this essay
Last month, I had the dubious honor of reading parashat Ki Tavo at my shul on Shabbat morning, including the Tokekha, the list of all the curses which will come upon the people of Israel if we do not keep the commandments. It’s a long, [...]

Jewish Mosaic Torah Queeries – “WRITE NOW!” Poster

If you are Jewish and a member of the GLBT community, and have experience writing a drash for the weekly Torah portion, please contact Noach Dzmura b r e r r a b b i [ a t s i g n ] h o t m a [...]

The parsha of Korah is about challenging authority and confronting injustice. It is about exposing wrongdoing, pointing out the fact that the emperor is wearing no clothes, and it is about the victory of democratic ideals over tyranny.
Would that it were! Instead, alas, parashat Korah is about what often happens to those of us [...]

Parashat Metzorah
Cross-posted to Jewish Mosaic
We’re in the middle of the book of Leviticus, in the middle of the torah, which means that we’re reading the instruction manual for the Levites in Temple times, detailing the knowledge necessary to carry out the job of the descendents of the house of Levi. On the surface, Leviticus teaches [...]

A few months back, Jewish Mosaic launched a new project, TransTexts: Exploring Gender in Jewish Sacred Texts, that Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla and Rabbinical student Reuben Zellman have been working on for quite some time.
I’ve had the honor and privilege of studying with both of these phenomenal teachers. They’ve both been incredible, and humble, leaders [...]

Yesterday, as expected, President Bush vetoed the Intelligence Authorization Act, which would have restricted the CIA to interrogation methods found in the Military Field Manual and outlawed without exception the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. In his weekly radio address, the President defended his decision as a matter of national security, saying [...]

This is a leap parsha in a leap year, so we’re taking it as a free throw. We’ll be back to our normal comics next week but for now, something completely different!