Last month, I was in Paris for a few days visiting my daughter, Hava. While there, late at night, I wandered into a kosher pizza store in a hole in the wall in the Marais, the older Jewish neighborhood of Paris. There were a few small tables, some old salt and pepper shakers, a picture…

This week’s parsha, Ki Tisa, speaks of counting the Jewish people by means of the half shekel.  The Torah states that this was done in order to avoid a plague that could result from the counting.  Indeed King David, against the better judgement of his advisors, insisted on counting the people and this did result…

In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, the Jewish people make and worship the golden calf after which Moshe comes down the mountain and breaks the tablets.   This parsha is bookended by God giving the instructions for making the Tabernacle to Moshe and Moshe telling the Jewish people how to build it. Rash”i reads…

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, contains the famous 13 Attributes of Mercy. We say them on fast days, and  on Yom Kippur we say them over and over in an attempt to beseech God for mercy.  As the Talmud says in Rosh Hashanah, 17b, “God appeared to Moses and taught him the 13 Attributes,…

In this week’s parsha, Ki Tisa, the Jewish people, just after hearing God at Mount Sinai, worship the golden calf.  This of course is a great sin for which Moshe appeals to God’s mercy and ultimately, gains forgiveness for the people. Aviva Zorenberg points out that if we look at the larger context of the…