Parsha Thoughts | Torah In Motion

Articles Parsha Thoughts

Metzora: Time for a Haircut

Judaism teaches that everything has the potential for holiness; after all everything in this world was created by G-d. But it is up to man to…

Tazria: A Sin Offering?

There is no greater joy than having a child. From a religious perspective, bringing new life into this world is the most tangible way of…

Shemini: Seeking the Middle

“Moshe then inquired, darosh darash, about the goat of the sin offering, and it had been burned” (Vayikra 10:16). Judaism has always…

Tzav: The Best Reason

One of the major debates in Jewish thought relates to the appropriateness of ascribing reasons for the mitzvoth of the Torah. One approach asserts…

Vayikra: Come on In

Jewish etiquette – and law – teach that one should not enter one’s own home, how much more so the home of someone else, without knocking first (…

Pekudei: Remember the Count

"These are the accounts, pekudei, of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of testimony, as they were pukad, rendered, according…

Vayakhel: Time to Meet

“Moshe gathered the entire congregation of Israel and said to them” (Shemot 35:1). It is extremely rare that the Torah records Moshe speaking to the…

Ki Tissa: Time to Speak

Forty days after the most awesome event in history – G-d’s revelation to man - the Jewish people were dancing around a golden calf. Though Moshe had…

Tezaveh - Biblical Editing

  The central theme of Sefer Shemot is the formation of the Jewish people as a nation. The group of 70 individuals who descended to Egypt…

Terumah - Soaring to the Heavens

Symbols play an important part in helping to define who we are. Our clothing, for example, is often symbolic of the social milieu with which we…

Mishpatim: The Thief and the Robber

"Rabban Yocḥanan ben Zakkai’s students asked him: ‘For what reason was the Torah stricter with a ganav, thief than with a gazlan, robber…

Yitro: Who was at Sinai

What kind of book is the Torah and who is it meant for? Rashi begins his commentary to the Torah with the supposition that the Torah is primarily a…

Beshalach: Great Expectations

Throughout the Exodus story, the Jewish people are silent. We do not know what they were thinking or doing during the plagues. We hear them rejoicing…

Vaeira: Yes Thank You

That man sins is part and parcel of being human. It is the basis of the most special day of the year, that of Yom Kippur. Proper preparation for, and…

Shemot: No Thank You

“And Moshe was frightened and he said, behold the incident is known. And Pharaoh heard about the affair and he sought to kill Moshe…

Vayechi: Joining the Covenant

  The opening 11 chapters of Sefer Breisheet can be read as explaining why there was a need for a Jewish people. G-d created man in His image…

Vayigash: A Test of Leadership

It is clear already from the sale of Yosef, that Yehuda had leadership potential. It was he who convinced the brothers not to murder Yosef, something…

Mikketz: Royal Politics

Yosef was a most charismatic person. He was young, attractive and as the Torah tells us on three occasions, he was an ish mazleach, a successful…