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Aug 28, 2026, 10:29 AM

The Altneu Beginning

The Jews stood on the cusp of the realization of a dream, first envisioned over a quarter of a millennium earlier. Whether as drifting strangers in the Land of Canaan, beaten slaves in Egypt, or weary wanderers in the...

Aug 28, 2026, 6:31 AM

A Sense of History (Ki Tavo, Covenant & Conversation)

Ki Tavo begins with the ceremony of bringing first-fruits to the Temple. The Mishnah gives a detailed account of what happened: Those that were near to Jerusalem brought fresh figs and grapes, and those that were far away brought dried...

Menachem Creditor

Aug 26, 2026, 11:37 PM

The Stones That Remember (Parashat Ki Tavo)

The generation Moses addresses at the end of his life is not, for the most part, the generation that left Egypt. These are the children of those who escaped slavery - a second generation of survivors, born in the...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Aug 26, 2026, 8:48 PM

Secret Sins (Ki Tavo)

"Secret Sins" (AI image by author)

“The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame or blame.” —Thomas Hobbes There is a special place in Jewish theology for the secret sinner. Moses commands the people of...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Aug 24, 2026, 12:43 AM

Discovering Gold in Israel

In the sixth Haftara of comfort, the Haftara for Parshat Ki Tavo, we come across an interesting verse about God compensating Israel (Yishayahu 60:17): “Where once there was copper, I will bring gold and where there was iron, silver....

Shamai Leibowitz

Aug 21, 2026, 8:37 AM

The Stranger in Your Tent

What do returning lost property, a desert tent, and the Arabic greeting—adopted by many Hebrew speakers—Ahlan wa sahlan ("welcome") have in common? They all have a connection to the Semitic root: א-ה-ל (A-H-L). While Hebrew kept Ohel (אֹהֶל) as the physical tent, Arabic came to use ahl (أَهْل) to mean the family living inside it....

Aug 21, 2026, 5:32 AM

The Parameters of Justice (Ki Teitse, Covenant & Conversation)

In Deuteronomy 24, we encounter - for the first time - the explicit statement of a law of far-reaching significance: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for parents. A...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Aug 20, 2026, 8:32 PM

Foundations for Life (Ki Tetze)

“If we do not maintain Justice, Justice will not maintain us.” — Francis Bacon In the period approaching the New Year and Yom Kippur, one may wonder about the preponderance of concern with Divine Justice. If, as we believe, God...

Aug 19, 2026, 9:56 AM

“The Courage to Win” Parashat Ki Tetze 5786

The portion of Ki Tetze opens with an eerily familiar verse , however, focuses on the conditions under which the law applies. The eshet yefat to’ar exists only after decisive victory, only after “G-d delivers him into your hand”...

Steven C. Wernick

Aug 17, 2026, 10:35 PM

A rabbi and a shofar walk into a church…

After October 7, an unlikely friendship across a theological divide became a living lesson in what it means to show up for one another

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