David Hartley Mark

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Jul 8, 2021, 12:22 AM

Tisha B’Av: Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai & Torah

Note: Tisha B’Av, the Ninth Day of the Month of Av, is the saddest day in the Jewish year—a fast of historical catastrophes, from the evil report of Moses’s spies in the Promised Land, to the defeat of the...

Feb 21, 2020, 5:43 AM

And Miriam ascended Mt. Sinai

“On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the Land of Egypt...they encamped in front of Mt. Sinai, and Miriam went up to God. ...Miriam came down from the mountain to the People and warned...

Jan 16, 2020, 8:18 AM

Prince Moses in the Dangerous Streets of Thebes

Shemot: Father of the Prophet “And there went a man of the House of Levi, and he took to wife a daughter of Levi.” --Exodus 2:1 It was a mild spring night; the moon shone down on the wavelets of the...

Dec 15, 2019, 10:58 PM

Vayayshev: Reuben, the Failed Firstborn

“The brothers saw Joseph from afar, but as he was approaching them, they were conspiring to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes that dreamer! Come, let us murder him.’ But Reuben, the Firstborn, ordered them, ‘Do...

Oct 17, 2016, 8:43 AM

Kohelet/Ecclesiastes: A Midtown Bar Near Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan: What is the True Purpose of Life?

Scene: Midtown Bar near Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan. Jukebox Music. Noise. Post-5 pm, the after-work crowd. Mostly twenty-and thirty-somethings, in no hurry to catch the subway home to Brooklyn or Queens or the train to Long Island. A sixtyish...

Nov 23, 2015, 7:36 AM

Vayishlach: Jacob Crosses the Yabbok River: A Soliloquy, or, Waiting for the Barbarian.

Vayishlach: Jacob’s Soliloquy Once I got away from my loving Dad-in-Law (ha!) Lavan, that leech, that bloodsucker, I thought our family was in the clear—I could settle back, let my donkey do the walking, while I rode up and down...

Nov 9, 2015, 10:49 AM

Toledot: With blind Isaac, in the tent: “That day upon the mountain, with my Father? I will tell you….”

Scene: The inner tent of Isaac, husband of Rebekah, father of “twins” Esau and Jacob, only son of Abraham and Sarah, the late founders of Judaism. The second patriarch of the faith lies on a cushioned mat in a...

Oct 26, 2015, 4:15 AM

Voices Off: The Lesser-Heard Characters of Parshat Vayeira

Angel of Sarah’s Annunciation: We angels are formed of heavenly aether, and exist only to perform God’s will: we get one mission each; that is all. I was happy to carry out my task: that is, to tell Abraham...

Oct 19, 2015, 3:31 AM

Lech-Lecha: When Avram Went Berserk

Lech-Lecha By Rabbi David Hartley Mark I am Lote ben Haran. You may have heard of me, and not in a good way. Yes: I admit it was I who fled Sodom and Gomorrah, lost my wife, and had that—unfortunate occurrence—with—um—family...

Oct 5, 2015, 8:03 AM

Beraysheet–Genesis: We Owe Eve Our Thanks, and the Serpent, Too

What to say about Beraysheet—Genesis? There are two, clearly-delineated versions of the Creation-Story; in particular, the creation of Man and Woman. The first, in Gen. 1, has God creating Man and Woman as equals, at the same time (no...

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About Me

David was born and raised on NYC's Lower East Side, and attended Hebrew Day School, Yeshiva Univ. HS, and Yeshiva Univ., where he learned English, Bible, and Jewish Education degrees. He attended the CUNY Graduate Center, and received both an MA and M.Phil. in English Literature, with a concentration in 17th Century, John Milton, and the Romantic Poets. David also received semicha/rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, NY. He has also attended the Hebrew College in Brookline, MA, where he received a Certificate in Advanced Hebrew School Administration. David serves Temple Sholom of Pompano Beach, FL; prior, he served pulpits in Warren, NJ, Fayetteville, NC, and Portsmouth, NH. He is married, with two grown children and a Shih Tzu. He recently published a book of his Torah stories, "The Torah Book: New Stories of Bible People & God."