Leann Shamash, at The Blogs

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Sep 6, 2023, 7:18 PM

Image by Albert Lew. Posted here with permission of the photographer.

The combined parshiyot of Nitzavim and Vayelech bring us almost to the close of the yearly cycle of Torah. In brief, these unforgettable chapters include all of us in the text. We are all present as Moses tells the...

Aug 23, 2023, 10:06 PM

The mother bird

How do we act when we are given tiny moments by ourselves, with no human witness to our conduct? (Ki Teitzei)

Jul 19, 2023, 8:03 AM

To Be a Teacher

I sometimes think that the experience of Moshe Rabeinu with the Hebrews in the desert is akin to a classroom teacher's experience. Moshe juggled so many balls at once, that it was difficult to keep them all in the...

Jul 5, 2023, 9:36 PM

To Mahlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah and Tirzah

Parshat Pinchas is named for the zealot Pinchas, but it is the story of the daughters of Tzelophechad that is a highlight of this parsha, if not in the entire Torah. This story is truly remarkable in a number...

Apr 28, 2023, 12:29 AM

Holiness is as holiness does

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל כּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy. -- Leviticus 19:2 * * * It...

Apr 19, 2023, 9:27 PM

Blood on her wings

This week we will read two highly unusual parshiyot, Tazria and Metzora. Tazria describes in details an affliction that can attack humans, clothing or homes and the rabbis teach that it is perhaps a result misuse of language in...

Apr 2, 2023, 11:13 PM

The Morning After

This poem about the day after the Seder was inspired by the following verse in Parshat Tzav: The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which...

Mar 22, 2023, 11:53 PM

The book of Vayikra is not shy. It enters into our skin, into our bedrooms, into our homes and into our relationships. As a religious school director for years, these Vayikra parshiyot were often the portions for children's springtime...

Mar 10, 2023, 8:16 AM

LIght and dark
Image by Leann Shamash

Parshat Ki Tisa speaks about the stone tablets of the law which are broken by Moshe in a fit of anger. Once again the people disappoint and behave in a way that is unseemly in the eyes of God....

Feb 23, 2023, 6:00 AM

Be My Sanctuary

"And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." Exodus: 25:8 (Translation from Sefaria) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ _____________________________________________ Parshat Terumah brings us to a new and very different portion of Sefer Shemot. For the next few weeks...

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About Me

After a career in Jewish education, Leann Shamash is the author of the blog Words Have Wings, which addresses the parsha of the week through poetry.

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