In just a few months, Temple Beth-El will welcome the High Holy Days with a brand new machzor (High HolyDay prayer book). This is the first machzor since “Gates of Repentance,” …
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d'Var Torah
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6/9/17
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The Torah portion just before Shavuot is named Bamidbar , which translates to “In the Wilderness.” Our rabbis have long been fascinated that the Torah was given to Israel …
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d'Var Torah
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5/25/17
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Lag B’Omer – the Hebrew letters lamed and gimel represent the numerical equivalent of 33, and so Lag B’Omer is a shorthand way of referring to the 33rd day of the 50-day count …
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d'Var Torah
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5/11/17
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That may sound like a sound-bite from Planned Parenthood or the Children’s Defense Fund, but I read those words in the writings of the Belzer Rebbe. The …
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d'Var Torah
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4/27/17
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We have all been told that we have untold possibilities locked inside us. What we must learn is that, to turn potential into reality, we must not let negative thinking get in our way, nor get …
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d'Var Torah
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4/7/17
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This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tisa , meaning, “When you count.” At this point in the weekly Torah narrative in the Book of Exodus, the Israelites have …
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d'Var Torah
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3/16/17
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We are used to seeing angels in Christian art and hearing about them in Christian spirituality, so we may think they are a Christian idea. Since Judaism holds firmly to a single, incorporeal …
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d'Var Torah
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3/2/17
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Recently we finished the Book of Genesis in our cycle of weekly Torah portions and began studying the Book of Exodus.
The Book of Genesis told us stories of our patriarchs and …
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d'Var Torah
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2/16/17
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This week’s parashah , Bo , lays at the heart of the story of the Exodus. Seven plagues have already befallen Egypt, yet, Pharaoh continues to enslave the Israelites. This …
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d'Var Torah
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2/2/17
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This week’s parashah begins in Egypt, just as a new pharaoh, despotic and hard-hearted, rises to power. Threatened by the growth of the Israelite population, Pharoah condemns a formerly vibrant …
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d'Var Torah
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1/20/17
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