Monthly Archives: August 2010

        We about half way through the month of Elul, a time for introspection and self-examination (cheshbon ha-nefesh, a personal accounting).  We are reminded of the approach of Rosh Hashanah by the blowing of the shofar every weekday.  This week’s … Continue reading →

        Maimonides counted 72 mitzvot (“commandments,” laws)  in Ki Tetse, which could be fodder for at least 72 sermons or Torah Portion Humor musings for this portion and, for the verses 25:17-19, on both remembering and wiping out Amalek, Shabbat … Continue reading →

This week’s portion is about laws, the legal systems for administering laws that will need to be set up in the Promised Land, and the principles that are supposed to govern these.  The overriding principle:  (16:20) “Justice, justice shall you … Continue reading →

With this week’s Torah portion, we get into the nitty-gritty legal section of Deuteronomy.  The Israelites are told again that they can be blessed if they behave right or cursed if they don’t.  Interestingly, the first word, “re’eh” (look), is … Continue reading →