• More Than Numbers: The Sacredness of Names in the Torah

    The name of this week’s Torah portion is Shemot, which literally means, “names.”  Though content-wise the book itself might be more aptly known by its latin name, Exodus, it does indeed begin with the counting by name of the children of Israel:  “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to…

  • Tabernacle, Shabbat, and the Risk of Idolatry

    With this week’s Torah portion, Pikudey, we will finish the book of Shemot, Exodus, and the reading of a 5 torah portion series that describes the tabernacle, a moving temple the Jews had in the desert, and its erection.   In these portions God describes the tabernacle to Moses while he is on the mountain…