Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today – Tzav

In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.

Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today – Vayikra

In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.

Darkness and Redemption: Reflections on Parashat Bo

On Tuesday evening, a group of Portland area clergy had a virtual town hall meeting with Governor Tina Kotek. Given recent changes in immigration status and rules per the new administration in Washington, DC, there is tremendous confusion, fear, anger, and anxiety.

A Post-Inauguration Edition

The twilight of bein hashemashot, the ambiguous time between day and night, evokes a profound sense of uncertainty and anxiety. For the Sages of the Talmud, this liminal moment posed Jewish legal challenges—a space neither fully day nor fully night, a realm where duties could be misunderstood or incorrectly performed. Their solution was to eliminate the ambiguity by assigning bein hashemashot to either day or night, depending on what ensured that halachic obligations would be met without error.

Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today – Shemot

In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.

Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today – Vayechi

In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.

Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today – Vayigash

In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.