The holiday of roses and candy hearts is a week away, and though Valentine’s Day got its start as a Christian liturgical celebration, this week’s Torah portion coincidently contains some interesting points about intimate relationships.
In parshat Mishpatim, the Israelites learn that accepting the commandments is a 24/7 job. I’ll bet you can guess what connection I’m drawing here.
Recording from Shabbat Services, January 29-30, 2016. Recorded and edited by Ed Kraus.
Each week, a congregant sends me some jokes on Friday morning. A morning chuckle is not a bad way to wrap up the week or head into Shabbat. This week's crop featured some great quips from the inimitable George Carlin, who was surely one of our greatest comedians.
Raising my “threenager” (though she won’t be three until September, I’m pretty sure this term applies), I am constantly straddling the line between coercion and freedom of choice. In some circumstances it’s totally acceptable for my daughter to have the final say.
The Torah provides a set of boundaries for living. Would life be simpler without these guidelines? Perhaps. But just as we would be irresponsible parents if we didn’t set boundaries for our children, we would be irresponsible custodians of the world if we didn’t understand our individual limits as part of a broader community.
We find ourselves at a heightened moment in our Torah's narrative. Standing at the sea, crossing and heading to long-awaited freedom, the Jews leave Egypt. But we do not leave alone. A subplot within the rabbinic story of our Exodus from Egypt concerns the "mixed multitude"--the eirav rav.
