ב"ה
On the whole, this is how we conduct our lives: when something faces us, we
grab hold of something else--a telephone, a wallet, a gun--with which to deal
with the situation.But there comes a point at which the external resources on which we've come to rely are suddenly ineffectual, and the only place to turn is inward, to ourselves.
Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Torah Reading for Week of May 6 - 12, 2001 
How to be a Jewish priest, seven days in the life of a lamb, fifty steps to
Sinai, and a full-color tour of the Jewish calendar...The Parshah in a Nutshell Full Parshah summary with commentary More on the Parshah from the Chassidic Masters
There’s a smug smile on my face, a smile wholly at odds with the somber
setting and the assembly of mourners. It is the first anniversary of my
grandfather’s death, and his descendants have gathered to speak lovingly of
the man who was husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.At my left, a relative jostles me, whispering, “It’s just not the same anymore without--” She bows her head. “I really miss him.” I nod in agreement, but inside I’m singing.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been uncomfortable spitting
during the Aleinu prayer. Or maybe you’re not Chabad and you don’t
spit. If that’s the case let me explain this dandy little custom.
The Kabbalists describe a hierarchy of being, starting with an Ultimate
Source which transcends the whole system of being and not-being, and working
down through a systematic, interlinked chain (“evolution”) of multiple
universes that terminate at our rock bottom, physical world.If we want to be thorough, we will need to reconstruct various degrees of nothingness and somethingness in between, and describe how one evolved into the other.
Thirty days ago, we cleaned our homes and souls of leaven and leisurely
matzahed our way through the week-long festival. And now--A Second Passover!It's the same 'over again, but this time it's quick and dirty: over before you know it, with challah moldering in the breadbox. What kind of Passover is this, anyway? |
 The Parshah in a Nutshell
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