Yonatan Udren

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Mar 31, 2023, 7:30 PM

Finding Freedom from Self-Help

When did we become so self-obsessed? This is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ question in his work Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times. He laments the overemphasis on the “I” at the cost of the “We” that is rampant today...

Apr 12, 2022, 5:28 PM

Choosing our covenant on seder night

“And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will protect you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt,”...

Feb 25, 2022, 5:06 PM

Parshat VaYakhel: Sanctifying Space and Time

“On six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord…” (Shemot 35:2). The time has come to build the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, the place of meeting between...

Feb 18, 2022, 1:51 PM

Parshat Ki Tisa: Confusing the Means with the Maker

The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted basely,” (Shemot 32:7). The sin of the Gold Calf is such a difficult incident to understand. How could the...

Feb 11, 2022, 7:15 AM

Parshat Tetzaveh: The Sacred Garments of Aspiration

“Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment,” (Shemot 28:2). At the beginning of the parsha, the text outlines in great detail the beautiful and ornate wardrobe that Aaron, the High Priest, will wear as he performs...

Feb 3, 2022, 11:06 PM

Parshat Terumah: A Home Built with Love

"Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him,” (Shemot 25:2). This week’s parsha opens with a very unusual request; God asks Moshe for donations from Am...

Jan 28, 2022, 12:17 AM

Parshat Mishpatim: A Belly Full of the Divine

"And they saw the God of Israel: under His feet there was the likeness of a brick-shaped sapphire, like the very sky for purity,” (Shemot 24:10). How impressive are all the descriptions of God’s revelation to Am Yisrael which began...

Jan 7, 2022, 12:19 AM

Parshat Bo: The Transformation of a Nation

“God gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moshe himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt, among Pharaoh’s advisors and among the people,” (Shemot 11:3). After 430 bitter years of oppression, Am Yisrael will...

Dec 31, 2021, 3:54 PM

Parshat Va’era: Choosing to Know God

"And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Children of Israel from their midst” (Shemot 7:5). If we look back on the Book of Bereishit, the...

Dec 23, 2021, 11:35 PM

Parshat Shemot: Found in Translation

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?’” (Shemot 3: 11). While grazing his father in law's flocks in the desert, Moshe unknowingly stumbles upon Mt. Chorev, which...

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About Me

Rabbi Yonatan Udren is the Co-Director of the RRG Beit Midrash, which offers a Jewish home away from home for English-speaking olim and overseas students in Jerusalem.

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