http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php en dsnyder@jewishtimes.com Copyright 2013 2013-05-17T13:21:23+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/glimpse_of_the_divine/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/glimpse_of_the_divine/#When:00:00:44Z It was one of my first days as a chaplain resident at the University of Virginia Health System. As I visited patients during my regular rounds, I entered the room of a middle-aged man who was being treated for cancer.  We were different ages and came from dissimilar communities and backgrounds.  I was just 30; he was at… Torah 2013-05-17T00:00:44+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/where_are_we_going_what_are_we_doing/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/where_are_we_going_what_are_we_doing/#When:13:28:43Z A few years ago, I took a trip to Phoenix. The highlight was a day-long outing to the Grand Canyon. If you have been there, you know how absolutely breathtaking the first sight of the Grand Canyon is. After looking out into the canyon for quite some time, I decided to engage in one of my favorite… Torah 2013-05-09T13:28:43+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/torah_and_liberty/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/torah_and_liberty/#When:17:27:21Z On a recent outing with my students to visit the extraordinary National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, we took a short detour to the Liberty Bell Center, which sits conveniently across Independence Mall from the NMAJH.  There is tremendous symbolism to the balance of the particular story of the Jewish people in America and the universal… Torah 2013-05-01T17:27:21+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/counted/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/counted/#When:14:35:20Z Fifty general sessions, eight Little Limmud sessions, one amazing opening session facilitated by Jakir Manela and an eye-opening lunch program discussing the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Gwynn Oak Park. Ten pounds of egg salad, 150 bagels, 200 desserts.  Four Taste of Limmud events, 16 Divrei Torah in the Baltimore Jewish Times, hundreds of flyers and emails.… Torah 2013-04-25T14:35:20+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/a_modern_spiritual_earth_day_interpretation/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/a_modern_spiritual_earth_day_interpretation/#When:14:50:18Z As Earth Day approaches, we must ask ourselves: Have we been good stewards of the land? Professor Arnold M. Eisen of the Jewish Theological Seminary perceives this parsha as the Biblical-era “way for the community to set itself right with God and one another.” Eisen references medieval commentator Nahmanides: “The deeds of the ancestors are a sign… Torah 2013-04-17T14:50:18+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/skin-deep_storytelling/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/skin-deep_storytelling/#When:13:05:57Z In this week’s double Parsha, Tazria/Metzora, the Torah teaches about a spiritual malady that manifested itself physically in the form of scaly patches on the skin. This disease, tzara’at, is often mistranslated as leprosy, but they are two separate conditions with two different sets of symptoms. If someone noticed signs of tzara’at on her body, a Kohen inspected… Torah 2013-04-15T13:05:57+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/bteavon/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/bteavon/#When:14:37:41Z At first read, it seems difficult to find a convergent theme for parshat Shemini. The parsha begins with the inauguration of the Mishkan, God’s “earthly dwelling place.” The great happiness of this inauguration is clouded by the death of Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron’s sons, who had brought an “alien offering” (10:2). However, Aaron’s enigmatic silence (10:3)… Torah 2013-04-03T14:37:41+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/hidden_good/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/hidden_good/#When:13:22:20Z In the Torah reading for Shabbat Chol Hamoed, Moshe makes an interesting request.  He asks God: “Hareini na et kivodecha” (Exodus 33:18), which literally translates as “Show me your honor.” Moshe knew God better than anyone.  He spoke to God directly. It was through Moshe that God performed many miracles.  So what did he mean by this request?… Torah 2013-03-28T13:22:20+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/real_freedom_fighters/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/real_freedom_fighters/#When:17:04:53Z At our Seders we will recite, “We were slaves of Pharoah in Egypt,” and we will repeat the words “slaves” and “slavery” many times. Yes, we’ll talk about slavery, but how many of us have done anything about it? One hundred and fifty years ago this July 1 at Gettysburg, Jewish soldiers of the 82nd Illinois infantry regiment… Torah 2013-03-20T17:04:53+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/reach_up_to_the_divine/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/reach_up_to_the_divine/#When:18:45:28Z This week’s parsha, Vayikra, presents detailed instructions for how the priests in the sanctuary were to offer sacrifices to God.  Vayikra is not for the squeamish.  It contains detailed, graphic descriptions of how the sacrificial animals are to be killed and cut open, and what is to be done with their anatomical parts (fat, blood, organs and… Torah 2013-03-13T18:45:28+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/to_get_to_the_other_side/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/to_get_to_the_other_side/#When:18:59:14Z In his final chapter of “Walden,” Thoreau writes: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.  Now put the foundations under them.”  I’ve always liked this quote, the sheer audacity and impracticality of Thoreau’s words.  Of course, one cannot build a roof before a house.  It’s… Torah 2012-12-26T18:59:14+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/the_i_in_team/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/the_i_in_team/#When:19:00:23Z Lately, the world has been captivated by great Olympians pushing their wills and bodies to the limit. In Baltimore, we celebrate a hometown hero in Michael Phelps.  Phelps somehow managed to combine hard work and God-given talent to earn a record 22 gold medals.  He deserves our admiration, but what about our emulation?  As the greatest Olympic athlete… Torah 2012-08-09T19:00:23+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/wealthy_blessing/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/wealthy_blessing/#When:07:00:07Z My daughter turns seven next Shabbat.  As we do every year, we are thinking about birthday presents again.  And though we have given her something every year in celebration of her life, there are two presents she remembers best. One year, we decided that what she needed more than anything was our attention, so my husband gave her… Torah 2012-07-19T07:00:07+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/leader_of_the_flock/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/leader_of_the_flock/#When:19:00:17Z A few years ago, when I was trying to purge our home of some of the hundreds of stuffed animals we had somehow acquired, I put a whole bunch in a bag and asked my children to take a look through it to be sure I had not chosen to donate something that was important to them. Needless… Torah 2012-04-12T19:00:17+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/miracle_fatigue/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/miracle_fatigue/#When:19:00:17Z This week, I took a plane flight. What an unremarkable statement these days! As the airplane took off, I sat there reading my book like so many other passengers, barely noticing the fact that we were doing something considered utterly impossible for most of human history. Indeed, in the 12 airborne seconds of his maiden flight in 1903,… Torah 2012-04-05T19:00:17+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/attitude_of_gratitude1/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/attitude_of_gratitude1/#When:19:00:25Z In our house, we use bedtime as a time to think about the day and cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” in our family. Ever since our children learned to speak, part of our bedtime ritual has been asking each person to identify one reason from the day to give thanks. My husband and I have recently added a… Torah 2012-03-29T19:00:25+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/finding_our_voice/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/finding_our_voice/#When:19:00:44Z Of all the sensory memories from childhood seders, it is the sound that sticks with me. How could one forget the enduring hum of conversation, the clinking of tines against china—the din of the dining room? I was raised in the usual way: over-stuffed meals packed with relatives and wine-soaked haggadahs, brisket, Maxwell House and macaroons.  There… Torah 2012-03-22T19:00:44+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/something_more/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/something_more/#When:19:00:21Z I was driving home from work the other day list-ening to NPR when their pledge drive appeal came on the air. Local radio personalities explained that unlike television, newspapers or magazines, where you have to pay in advance for the service or subscription, Public Radio stations serve everyone without a fee. Their budgets rely on the generosity of… Torah 2012-03-15T19:00:21+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/signs_sinai_shabbat/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/signs_sinai_shabbat/#When:19:00:45Z I lay tefillin each morning. The ancient blessings, the visceral feeling of tightening the leather straps, the weight of the batim (leather boxes containing verses from Torah) offer powerful moments of contemplation before I head into the world. Having not encountered tefillin until adulthood, I am often struck by how otherworldly they seem. Their strangeness elicits a moment… Torah 2012-03-08T19:00:45+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/project_kippah/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/jt/torah/project_kippah/#When:19:00:31Z A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking my children to see “Disney On Ice.” I parked in the garage attached to the arena. After the show, my kids and I made our way up to our car, prepared to spend some time getting out of the parking lot. I turned on my engine and waited… Torah 2012-03-01T19:00:31+00:00