Religion

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Episode 5: Shemot: Names are Important and I Am What I Am

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This week as we enter the book of Exodus. In hebrew we call this book Shemot the book of names. The Torah portion starts out with the names of the Israelites who came down to Egypt. Then later we learn the name of Moses and when Moses encounters God for the first time he says to God tell me your name.

As I write this I can't help but remember the gay anthem of my youth the Gloria Gaynor song I Am What I Am
 

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Episode 4: Shemot: Civil Disobedience and the Path to Redemption

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This week we begin the book of exodus in the Torah Portion Shemot (Exodus 1:1–6:1). The Israelites are slaves and we follow them from slavery to freedom and then redemption. 
As we begin this journey through Exodus, Let us consider the midwives Shifrah and Puah The process of redemption does not begin with divine intervention, but with the first recorded act of non-violent civil disobedience. 
The Torah says that a King arose that did not know Joseph. This Pharoh did not like the increasing number of Israelites. He ordered the midwives, Shifrah and Puah to kill the Israelite male babies as they were born. Midwives did not comply. Their act of civil disobedience makes it possible for the next act and then another and then finally freedom and then redemption

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Episode 3: Shemot and the Ordinary Burning Bush

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Hello, and welcome to another Minute lessons from the Torah. This week we begin the book of Exodus with the Parsha Shemot (Exodus 1:1–6:1). The Israelites are now slaves in Egypt. Our hero Moses is now a criminal and living as a shepherd. One day he takes his sheep into the wilderness and he sees a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Mose turned to investigate this amazing site and when God saw that Moses turned to look, God said. Dude!! Take your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.

One of my teachers told me that we have a Midrash, an ancient story, that tells us that the bush was burning for a long time and it was well known to the local people and many came to see this cool attraction. But what set Moses apart from everyone else was that the bush didn’t merely catch his eye, it was something he realized must be investigated. He was inspired by what he saw, and he left the path he was on, to investigate.
Moses was willing to step out of his comfort zone, to look into something that could provide him with more meaning. Only after God saw that Moses turned off his regular path to investigate, did God call out to him, and Moses replies hineni, here I am. 
How many times have we missed out on the extraordinary awe of God because we thought it was an ordinary burning bush

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Mikeitz And The Last Torah Message For 2016

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My last Torah message for 2016. This week we have been reading from the Torah portion Mikeitz, continuing the Joseph story. Joseph is the boy who dared to dream who turned into a man who was able to interpret dreams. As we move into 2017 my message is to never be afraid to dream. In our society we sometimes discourage those. who call themselves dreamers but to have the courage to dream for a better future, there is nothing wrong with that. On this last night of Hanukkah Chag Sameach Happy New Year and may you be blessed in 2017