This past Saturday was Shabbat Gadol, the Great Sabbath, which just means that services tended to go a bit long just before Passover. Our discussion didn’t go on very long, but it wound up being interesting, I think. The parshah…
Last week, in Parshah Tazria, most of the laws about skin disease, quarantine, and ritual purity were laid down. This week is Parshah Metzorah (Leviticus 14:1-15:33), which finishes up about the disease stuff, including the ritual return to the community…
Did I never post about parshah Tazria, (Lev 12:1-13:59)? Oh, dear. I did, in fact, prepare something for services, although what I was planning to talk about was not what we did, in fact, talk about. The reading is about…
Your Humble Blogger appears to be lame. Very lame. Well, there it is. Last week was parshah Vayikra (Exodus 9:1-11:47), which contains two odd stories, which we talked about in synagogue. The first and better-known is the story of Nahab…
This week’s reading is Parshah Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36). It consists, primarily, of instructions for Aaron and the cohanim, and the actual anointing. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here, primarily in Chapter 8. I was unaware that Moses had washed…
This week’s parshah was Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1-5:26), in which the Lord gives Moses the detailed instructions for karbanot, sacrificial offerings. Different kinds of offerings (lambs, goats, birds, meal) are set out for different reasons and different levels of affluence. There’s…
Your Humble Blogger has been traveling on weekends lately, for one reason and another, and so has been able to slack on the weekly parshah without the embarrassment of actually showing up unprepared. As a result, I’ve now missed three…
Your Humble Blogger didn’t realize quite how far behind things had gotten in this whole parshah business. Going back, then, two weeks to parshah Terumah, I had wondered how the Israelites managed to make the Mishkan to spec. I brought…
Parshah Terumah is Exodus 25:1-27:19, and it’s all about the Mishkan, the sanctuary the Israelites carry through the desert, and the fabled Ark of the Covenant, and the sacred vessels, and the garments of the priests. Whoo hoo! Next episode,…
This week’s parshah is Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18). Mishpatim are judgments, or ordinances, or rules. I hadn’t ever noticed it before, but the Ten Commandments is the point at which the Torah shifts from being a collection of stories about people…