Posts Tagged Torah Commentary

In Fear, What Will We Choose to Build?

frame of a home

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

As former slaves, the Israelites were no strangers to backbreaking labor to glorify Pharaoh and Egyptian deities. During their transformational journey from Egypt to The Promised Land, the Israelites build two notable structures for their own use.
Ki Tisa

The Importance of Gracious Receiving

Shavuot

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

At the beginning of my relationship with my husband, I was not always gracious in receiving his gifts because I felt they did not reflect who I am and pointed to his not truly knowing me.
T'rumah

What is Holy to God? Each of Us

Silhouette of an unidentifiable person standing on a beach at sunset obscured by a sunbeam

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

In the second century, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, traveled from the Galilee to Rome to plead for the repeal of a royal edict forbidding Shabbat, circumcision, and the laws of ritual purity.
T'tzaveh

The Enslavement of Debt, Then and Now

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

“When you acquire an eved Ivri, Israelite debt servant, that person shall serve six years – and shall go free in the seventh year, without payment” (Exodus 21:2).
Mishpatim

Technology and Our Covetous Inclinations

on the phone texting sending hearts

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

During a recent Zoom meeting, a participant remarked that she dreaded video calls, lamenting, “Seeing everyone else’s beautiful homes makes me feel bad about mine.” During the pandemic, we have spent an unprecedented amount of time on screens, enjoying a strangely voyeuristic view of others’ personal spaces.
Judaism Under Quarantine

The Past is Hard to Leave Behind

old way new way signs

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

During the pandemic, many of us have turned to our comfort foods as we self-isolate. We bake bread and cookies, make mac and cheese, and cook vats of soup. We long for the past, a seemingly safer time, and seek it in a bite of food.
B'shalach

Why So Many Plagues?

Shavuot

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

In the past few months, we have experienced many extraordinary catastrophes.
Va-eira

Where Is Humanity?

Shavuot

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Mary Zamore

This week’s Torah portion, Sh’mot, begins the well-known narrative of Israelite enslavement and redemption from Egyptian bondage. On face value, it tells us of God’s saving power at our greatest moment of need.
Sh'mot

Using Our “God-Sparks” to Reconcile Our Relationships

mental-health-concept-psychology-emotions-healing

D'Var Torah By: Chris Harrison

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Dara Lithwick

The book of B’reishit is, in essence, one big, messy story about family. While the relationships discussed in this book are imperfect, they matter because people matter. Imperfect as these families are, they’re still sacred because God exists as the connection between them.
Va-y'chi
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