When Moses convened the community, he essentially created the community by bringing the people together. Did they all agree with each other? And is it necessary that everyone in the community today agree? Rabbi Barenblat brings this key theme of the parashah to the communal dissension over the current situation in Gaza.
In the prior parashiot, the people willingly gave generously for the construction of a false idol; the following week they again gave generously for the construction of the Tabernacle for Adonai. Maimonides suggests that charitable giving is essentially part of the Jewish DNA; it comes first before anything else. Thus, the people gave first, and thought about their actions later.
Songs in Support of Israel | Cantor Feldman and Cantor Campbell
In Ki Tisa, when God tells Moses that he will destroy the people and repopulate the nation from Moses’ descendent, Moses tells God to let him be. Noach, in contrast, does exactly as God ordered, letting God destroy the world, and thereby failing the population. pan
Rabbi Sacks writes about the issue of artistic creativity in Jewish custom and culture. Artistic expression is Judaism is a sensitive subject because of the commandment to not make idols or graven images. Yet, the Torah describes God’s gifts of artistic creativity to Betzalel and Ohaliab, in constructing the Tabernacle.
Rabbi Ovadia is a proponent of adapting halakhah to contemporary conditions. In the case of festivals such as Purim, he makes a strong statement against the custom of justifying drinking alcohol for religious purposes.
Happy Purim
On November 26, 1936, Rav Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel delivered a lecture to a gathering of rabbis in Jerusalem.
Less than 6 weeks after the revelation at Mt. Sinai, Israel constructed the Golden Calf, causing God’s wrath against them. Rabbi Sacks observes that Aaron was the one to blame, for losing control, as the Torah understands the narrative, yet Aaron was a significant figure, who in later tradition was admired. Please follow the link below to read the full article:
“The Hebrew language has the capacity to make any music sound Jewish…” Cantor Friedman asks the question “What makes Jewish music Jewish?” He continues to introduce some standard “Jewish” songs that use melodies that aren’t originally “Jewish”.