Mitzvah d'var

In the beginning I was so glad I got to read this Torah portion, B’reishit, because I thought it was going to be easy …  easy to find, because it's the first portion from the entire Torah. It has short verses and a lot of repetition - “ va yomer/and G-d said”,...Read more...

Just a week ago, I was in Acadia National Park in Maine for a two-week-long marine biology sleepaway camp. On the very last day, one of my friends and I had a conversation that I’ve been thinking about.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I asked. 
“I’m not really...Read more...

Isn’t it wonderful that a girl who loves animals so much got to do a Torah portion that is all about them?!

My Torah portion is from Genesis chapter 6, it is about the story of Noach.

Noach lived in a time when the earth was corrupt...Read more...

While sometimes my voice is pretty quiet, and people can’t hear me well, I still have a voice, and thoughts to share. Having a voice and being heard is something that, most of the time, we probably take for granted. But as you will soon hear, it is worth reflecting upon...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom - 

So last week I got this email from the Rabbi - He wrote:

Dear Lev,
I LOVE your d'var Torah!
It is very intellectual and thoughtful. 
I'd like to see a few things though:
Spice up the beginning...Read more...

In my Torah portion, Parashat Sh’lach L’cha, which is found in the book of Numbers, chapter 13: verses 21-33, the Jews have escaped from Egypt and are now coming across the desert to the promised land, or the Land of Israel. G-d tells Moses to send scouts into Israel, a representative from...Read more...

My portion ( Beha’alotcha ) is from chapter 8 verses 1-12 the book of Numbers, which is the fourth book of the torah. The name means the mounting of the menorah. Some of the things that happen in my Torah portion include how to create the seven branch menorah and how to...Read more...

My Torah portion is Vayetzei and is from Genesis 28:10-32:3.  In it, Jacob traveled to Haran in search of his uncle Laban. On the way there, he has a dream about angels...Read more...

The oppression of the Israelites by the Pharaoh of Egypt was a tortuous time, the idea of slavery itself is horrific, and yet Abraham’s reaction was indifferent. You...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom.  So, in my Torah portion, God spoke to Moses and Aaron and told them how to purify stuff. He said: “You need a red cow. Then, give it to the priest. He’ll brutally murder it and sprinkle its blood 7 times. Then, burn it, all of it, even its dung. Throw...Read more...

The portion I just chanted from the Book of Numbers is the first portion from that book and is called B’Midbar.  It opens by telling us that on the first day of the second month two years following the exodus from Egypt, G-d orders Moses to take a census. It is not a...Read more...

My parshah, or Torah Portion, tells the story of Noah.  Most everyone knows the story of “Noah and the Ark”.  You know about the Ark, the great flood, and the animals that came on in twosie, twosies. Studying this parshah I learned that there is so much more to question...Read more...

The Torah refers to the five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five books of Moses tell a story, the story of the creation of the world, the story of the Jews breaking free from the Egyptians and wandering the desert for 40 years before...Read more...

This morning’s torah portion, B’Midbar, is the beginning of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah. It starts out with God telling Moses that he needs to count the number of men over 20 years of age who are able to bear arms.  There is a debate among the Rabbis and Jewish...Read more...

@phyomoe (Myanmar), Phyo Moe/AGORA images

This morning, I am a bar mitzvah or a Jewish adult and have read from the Torah.  This means I, Asher, am now ready to be your host of the webseries: Torah Alive.  Folks, get ready...Read more...