PARSHA POSTS: KEDOSHIM

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May 14, 2024, 8:00 AM

Judaism’s Three Voices (Kedoshim, Covenant & Conversation)

The 19th chapter of Vayikra, with which our parsha begins, is one of the supreme statements of the ethics of the Torah. It’s about the right, the good and the holy, and it contains some of Judaism’s greatest moral...

May 13, 2024, 5:46 AM

Being Alone is Not The Same as Being Lonely

The curious story of the first anti-Semite in history As the tensions between the US and Israel reached new heights this week, Jews have been feeling more isolated than ever before. In his jarring speech at the Yad Vashem Holocaust...

May 10, 2024, 6:57 PM

Acting with Holiness after October 7th

Parshat Kedoshim and Yom HaAtzmaut after October 7th Our Torah portion this week begins with a unique addition to the standard formal introduction to revelation: Va yi dabar Adonai el Moshe Lamor And Adonai spoke unto Moses saying: Only here...

May 10, 2024, 6:44 PM

‘Yeah-Boo” and Other Memories of My Dad, Discourse, and Parashat Kedoshim

My father’s yahrzeit was on the 30th of Nissan (Wednesday). More about him and what we can learn from him regarding our current situation and Parashat Kedoshim at the end. But reflecting on the events of the past few days...

William Hamilton

May 10, 2024, 6:39 PM

One Small Light

“Our world kept getting smaller” writes Jessie Fein in her inspiring new memoir. Not in a good way. As in when you bump into a stranger while traveling abroad who turns out to be your neighbor's best friend, and...

May 10, 2024, 10:16 AM

Parashat Kedoshim and Yom Haatzmaut

This Shabbat we read Parashat Kedoshim and on Monday night and Tuesday we will be celebrating Yom Haatzmaut, the anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Is there a connection between the two? I believe the answer may be found in...

May 10, 2024, 8:44 AM

Israel at 3,761

Women praying at The Kotel, between 1898 and 1946. (G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection/Library of Congress)

One of the most damaging things that can be done to Israel is to call it 76 years old. Inferring that Israel was founded in 1948 CE fuels the myth that the country was colonized by European Jews and...

May 10, 2024, 12:23 AM

The Divine Marshmallow Experiment

Walter Mischel’s Marshmallow Experiment is one of the most well-known studies in delayed gratification. Mischel and his team famously challenged preschool children to delay eating a treat for 15 minutes. If they held out, they would earn an additional...

May 9, 2024, 11:52 PM

A Trip to USC, and the Stumbling Block of ‘Genocide’

*The following is a sermon delivered by me on 5/10/24 in El Centro, California for my student internship. 140! 140 is the number of college campuses across the United States that have had Pro-Palestinian encampment protests over the last three...

May 9, 2024, 11:45 PM

A Blank Page: Parshat Kedoshim

Last night I had a dream. I’m neither a Joseph, nor a Sigmund, but I tried to understand to what or whom the dream was related. I thought I had finished the first draft of this blog before going...

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