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Commentaries on Jewish Texts/Holidays

Psalms: 

Psalm 1  ||  Psalm 23:4 (video) (text) ||  Psalm 30 (video 1) (video 2)  ||  Psalm 136 (video)

Holidays: 

Rosh HaShannah || Yom Kippur || Channukah || Purim || Haiku Haggadah

Prayers:

Kaddish || 

Mishnah:

Berachot 2:2

Avot 2:3, 2:4

Talmud: 

Megillah 2a 

Nefesh haChayim: 

Intro || 1:1,2 || 1:3 || 1:4  (video) || 1:4

Torah Commentaries

◄ Bereishit / Genesis ►

Bereishit

● "Darkness" or "The Book of Dexter (4:7)"  

Noach

Noach: Good Enough? (Medium)

Noach: Being Creators (TOI)

It Will be Good (TOI)

 Are We What We Need?

Lech Lecha:

Can One Land Support a Family? TOI

The Uncertain Woods of Faith HuffPo

Wholeness and Sacrifice HuffPo

A beautiful, fragile world Medium

Ready

Abraham and the Idols

Vayera

● Seeing the Other

● The Quality of Sodom

● Which Fire?

● The Akeidah Post 9/11

Chayei Sarah

The Blessed Burden (TOI)

Chayei Sarah: Twilight and Uncertainty

Isaac's Prayer

Toldot

● Why am I?

● Bound and Blessed (Again) (TOI)

Vayetze

Leah's Hidden Blessing (MJL)

Sleep. Rest. Dream. (Medium)

The Nature of Tears (TOI)

● Qualified Pluralism; Part II

Vayishlach

Wiser by the Wound (Medium)

VaYishlach: To Prevail (TOI)

Vayeshev

10 Years After Sandy Hook: A Jewish Reflection (Medium)

Peace and Quiet

The Threat of Serenity (HuffPo)

Miketz

● Remembering Our Dreams

Vayigash

● ThePossible Blessing of Encounter (TOI)

● Closer,Come Closer (Medium)

● Broken Words

Vayechi

● Abundant Love: The Wisdom of Jacob (MJL)

◄ Sh'mot / Exodus ►

Sh'mot

● A World Without Children's Voices

● Salvation without a Name

● Must it be Armageddon? (TOI)

Va'era

Diving for Hidden Treasure (HuffPo)

Seeing the Everyday as Miraculous (video, Jan. 21, 2023)

A World of Chesed

Born Again 

Two Roots

Bo

Beshallach
● Turning (video)

Yitro

● Why I Fight

● The Necessity of Windows

● Is Sculpture Idolatry?

● Exodus and Relational Authority

Mishpatim

Terumah

Tetzave
● Always For and Sometimes Within (TOI)

Ki Tissa

● Plaquesville

● The Wisdom of Chovav

Vayak'hel-Pekudei

● The Value of Things

● The Necessity of the Whole

Pekudei

● Why is Moses Kept Out of the Tabernacle? (MJL)

◄ Vayikra / Leviticus ►

VaYikra

● TheSacrificial Call

Tzav

Shemini

● Strange Fire

Tazria-Metzora
● Human Boundaries and Inclusion

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

● Troubling Tradition

● Intimacy [video]

● "Out There" or "In Here?"

● What's Holy and What's Not

Emor

● Driving to Shul on Shabbat and Holiness

Behar-Bechukotai

● The Absence of Jerusalem

◄ Bemidbar / Numbers ►

Bemidbar
● When the Desert Sings (video)

Va'etchanan

Ekev
● Lift Up Your Eyes!

V'Zot HaBeracha

● Waiting 

Naso

● Personal Status and Jewish Leadership
● Journeying 

Beha'alotecha

● Yearning for Home

Shelach Lekha

● Destiny and Choice

● The Power of a Glance

Korach

● Trust and Care

● Trust

Chukkat

● The Mutual Vulnerability of Friendship

● It's About Family

Balak

Pinchas

● The Blessings of Brokenness

● One Year Later

Mattot - Massei

◄ Devarim / Deuteronomy ►

Devarim

● Where Truth Awaits

VaEtchanan

Jewish Riverdance?

Eikev

The Consequences of Listening (Medium)

Healthy Love (Times of Israel)

Re'eh

Re'eh: How Things Should Be (Medium)

Shoftim

Ki Tetze

Ki Tavo

● God's Atonement

● We Don't Have the Words

●  An Intention

Nitzavim-Vayelech

● Things, Hidden and Revealed
● Returning from Exile

Ha'azinu

VeZot HaBracha

I'm so sad Moses had to die [#poem]
● Crying for Moses: Preparing for Yom Kippur. And Life.