Monthly Archives: May 2014

Shavuot

Posted on May 30, 2014 by

Next Tuesday night, the third and, nowadays, least noticed of the three harvest festivals, Shavuot (“weeks,” as in 7 weeks after Passover) begins and the counting of the omer (sefirat ha’omer or just sefirah) is complete.  In addition to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Naso (Numbers 4:21 – 7:89)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by

At 176 verses, Naso is the longest single Torah portion of the year.  However, there’s a lot of repetition in the 89 verses of Chapter 7, which include the 12 identical tribal gifts presented over 12 days at the dedication … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bemidbar (Numbers 1:1 – 4:20)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by

This week we begin reading the book of Numbers, in Hebrew Bemidbar (in the wilderness of… i.e., Sinai) or Bamidbar (in the wilderness).  Bemidbar is the first major word in the text, which is how the books and portions are … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Behukkotai (Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34)

Posted on May 16, 2014 by

With this week’s Torah portion, we finish the book of Leviticus (stop cheering – some folks think the next book, Numbers, is a real downer).  The portion starts with eleven verses of blessings (26:3-13) that the Israelites will enjoy if … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Behar (Lev. 25:1-26:2)

Posted on May 9, 2014 by

I have been dealing with a lingering respiratory syndrome (laryngitis, productive and non-productive cough, headache) and the time has come for a full court press because I have a little concert (madrigals class) and a big one (DVC) in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Emor (Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23)

Posted on May 2, 2014 by

If you have a strong sense of déjà vu in the middle of Parashat Emor, it may be because we just read Leviticus 22:26 – 23:44 on April 16, the second day of Passover.  It’s also read on the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment