BeHar – The redemption of humanity and earth
Chapter 25 of the Book of Leviticus and the first two verses of 26 make up this small parashah in its entirety, but it is one of the most...
top of page
Search
Rabbi Skorka
May 14, 20192 min read
Emor – To sanctify the name of God
From the phrase "I am to be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people," which is found in this parashah (22:32), the sages of the...
Rabbi Skorka
May 9, 20192 min read
Kedoshim- Love of neighbor
This parashah begins with God's command to Moses to gather the whole congregation of Israel (Leviticus 19:1-2) so that they will listen...
Rabbi Skorka
May 2, 20192 min read
Acharei Mot-The scapegoat
This parashah describes the ritual that should be performed on the Day of Atonement, when sins and transgressions that have been...
Rabbi Skorka
Apr 24, 20192 min read
Shevi´i and Acharon of Pesach – The final redemption
According to rabbinic tradition, on the seventh day of Passover the Children of Israel crossed on a dry path through the Sea of Reeds....
Rabbi Skorka
Apr 11, 20191 min read
Metzora - The impurity of the soul
In this parashah, the Torah continues to describe the methods of purification for skin lesions and also when corrosive blotches appear on...
Rabbi Skorka
Apr 4, 20191 min read
Tazria – What makes a human being physically impure
This parashah, and the following one, defines the situations and physical manifestations that render a person ritually impure. It is...
Rabbi Skorka
Mar 28, 20191 min read
Shemini-The laws of Kashrut
This parashah describes the impure animal species that are forbidden to eat. It sets the basis for what is known by the word Kashrut, the...
Rabbi Skorka
Mar 21, 20192 min read
Tzav – Reparation and sacrifice
This parashah continues with the description of the various sacrifices. Some of them were part of the atonement process for errors and...
Rabbi Skorka
Mar 14, 20192 min read
Vayikra - The meaning of sacrifice
With this parashah begins the reading and analysis of the third book of the Pentateuch, which the Talmud (Mishnah Megillah 3: 5) calls...
Rabbi Skorka
Mar 8, 20192 min read
Pekudei - Accountability
This parashah details all of the construction materials that Moses received for the building of the Tabernacle and its utensils,...
Rabbi Skorka
Feb 28, 20191 min read
Vayakhel - The construction of the Sanctuary
In this parashah, the role of the people of Israel in the construction of the Sanctuary is described. Although there was an overall...
Rabbi Skorka
Feb 22, 20192 min read
Ki Tisa - Two forms of paganism
One of the central purposes of the Torah, and indeed of the Jewish tradition at large, is to remove any form of idolatry from among the...
Rabbi Skorka
Feb 14, 20192 min read
Tetzaveh - The eternal light
Having described the Tabernacle and its furnishings in the previous parashah, this one tells of the clothes of the priests and the...
Rabbi Skorka
Feb 8, 20191 min read
Terumah - The first temple of Israel
This parashah describes the components and construction of the Tabernacle, the portable Temple that the Children of Israel had in their...
Rabbi Skorka
Jan 31, 20192 min read
Mishpatim - The covenant
The end of this parashah describes the ritual by which God covenanted with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. In the preceding passage,...
Rabbi Skorka
Jan 25, 20192 min read
Yitro – Jethro. Between Israel and the peoples
This parashah – Yitro (= “Jethro”) – has as central themes the story of the revelation of God to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai and...
Abraham Skorka
Jan 18, 20192 min read
Beshalach - The path to freedom
The central theme of this parashah is the account of the challenges and labors that the Benei Israel faced once they left the land of...
Rabbi Skorka
Jan 10, 20191 min read
Bo - The perennial message of the plagues
The last three plagues that God sent on the Egyptians are described in this parashah (Locusts, Darkness and Death of the Firstborn). God...
Rabbi Skorka
Jan 3, 20192 min read
Vaera - The Names of God
God is referred to in the Bible by several different names. Elo-him is the one that first appears when the creation of the Cosmos is...
bottom of page