Author: Tzipora

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler The Akedah, or “binding”, is one of the most gut-wrenching incidents in Scripture. It is usually associated with the High Holy Days in the Autumn, as it is the Torah portion for Rosh haShanah, but, there are definitely aspects seriously relevant to Passover. We find the Akedah narrative in Genesis 22.…

by Rabbi Jeffrey A. Adler Genesis 15 begins with a despairing Avram. We often think of the Biblical heroes as being almost superhuman, certainly untainted by the same kinds of struggles faced by the rest of us. Instead, we find that these remarkable people were aided by the even more remarkable God. The chapter begins,…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler One of the dominant patterns in Mishle, or Proverbs, is Solomon’s giving counsel to a son, possibly Rehoboam, his eventual successor, but, with his 1000 wives and concubines, one cannot be certain how many sons he had and could be addressing. In chapter 3, one of the better known passages of…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler Last week’s parshah was “T’rumah” (Exodus 25:1-27:19). The title comes from the dominant theme of the portion that Moses was to receive from the people of B’nei-Yisrael an offering, a “t’rumah”, literally, a “lifting up”. It was to be from “anyone whose heart compels him”, leaving it to individual conscience and…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler We live in a day when “diversity” is exalted. To a certain extent, this can be a good thing, as people are individuals and not stamped out of a divine cookie mold. However, there is also a propensity for people to develop their own rendition of truth, totally ambivalent to the…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler In Isaiah 6, the prophet is dealing with the death of Judah’s king, Uzziah. Uzziah had been Judah”s king for 52 years, the second longest reign of all the rulers of Israel and Judah. He had also been very successful, establishing Judah as a major commercial and military force. Yet, at…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler Studies of Ezekiel tend to focus on the 1st half, the “vision of the valley of dry bones”. That thrilling prophecy is wonderful and profound, of course, but, the 2nd half is also a wonderful demonstration of the Divine character and God’s love and faithfulness toward Israel. Verse 15-17 reads, “The…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler In our previous dealings with Ezekiel 37, the famous “Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones”, we saw God take the prophet to the floor of a valley filled with dead, dry bones, representing the apparent destiny of the Jewish people after centuries of our defiance of Adonai and His Torah…

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler Ezekiel had a very difficult task: to deliver the messages of Adonai against a backdrop of darkness and divine judgement. He, like the other prophets, was a true patriot, wanting to give a proclamation of good news; yet, to do so would have been in defiance of the Lord Who had…

by Rabbi Jeffrey A. Adler Love is a popular topic for discussion these days. Our culture, particularly the religious culture, talks about it all the time. Generally, the mainstream sees love as acceptance of everyone and his quirks, even if those quirks and lifestyles run counter to Adonai and every principle of His Kingdom. People…