by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki | f 18, 2024 | God, Va'etchanan
This verse is the most fundamental statement of monotheistic faith in the entire Bible. Jewish practice is to recite it, and the five verses that immediately follow it, twice a day every day. According to Jewish tradition, it is customary to cover one’s eyes when...
by Mindy Rubenstein | f 23, 2023 | Repentance, Va'etchanan
Sixteen years ago, my husband and I–with our two toddlers–attended a beautiful Shabbat dinner with a rabbi and his family. Though I was born Jewish, I was brought up secular and had little connection to Judaism until then. At that meal I literally fell in...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2023 | Va'etchanan
In this week’s portion, Moses continues his farewell speech to the people. Here, he repeatedly warns the people against falling into the trap of idolatry. He reminds them of the incident at Ba’al Pe’or, in which the people sinned and a plague wiped out thousands, and...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2022 | Education, Parenting, Shabbat, Va'etchanan
I’ll admit it. I like sleeping in on Shabbat. So when my precious ten-year-old son began nudging my shoulder at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning, I was tempted to roll over and hide under the blankets. But I didn’t. Being a parent is not a nine-to-five job, it is 24/7 and...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Prayer, Va'etchanan
In the summer of 1914, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook – the future Chief Rabbi of British-controlled Palestine and one of the leading Rabbinic thinkers of modern times – was in Berlin, on his way to an important Rabbinic conference in Frankfurt. The conference...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2022 | Chosen Nation, Israel, Light Unto the Nations, Va'etchanan
God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky or, alternatively, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. In fact, Jews are rare. Today, Jews represent a mere .2% of the world’s population. In the words of Mark Twain: If the...
