Mark L. Shook

Is Seeing the Same as Believing?

D'Var Torah By: Mark L. Shook

September 18, 2013
For most of our congregations, the procession of Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah will begin with a textual reminder that Israel "knows" that Adonai is God. (Deuteronomy 4:35) Gates of Prayer translates the passage this way: "You have been shown [har'eita], that you may know, that the Eternal alone is...

Encountering the Sacred in Uncharted Lands

D'Var Torah By: Yoel H. Kahn

October 4, 2012
A core teaching of Jewish spiritual practice is our readiness to read the Torah in many different ways. We find meaning and significance across entire books; or we zoom in, such that an individual letter or even an accent mark fills our field of vision and discloses sacred truth. The...