Tag: faith
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Do you Believe in Miracles?
In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses assembles the Israelites on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the Land promised to our ancestors. In a series of three speeches, Moses recounts the history of the past forty years, reviews old laws and imparts new ones, exhorts the people to follow the commandments and castigates them…
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Measure for Measure
Our Torah reading this week (Numbers 16) concerns the most serious rebellion confronted by Moses in all of the forty years in the desert. A man named Korach leads an uprising of 250 Israelites, “chieftains of the community …. men of repute” against Moses, saying, “All of the community is holy, all of them, and…
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Rahab and the Spies
In this week’s prophetic portion, (Joshua 2: 1-24) or Haftarah, Joshua sends two spies to Jericho in anticipation of attacking and conquering the city. The two spies take up lodging with a woman named Rahab, who is described as a harlot. The King of Jericho hears of the infiltration of the spies. He seeks out…
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God Cares
In this week’s Torah reading we find the Priestly BlessingMay God Bless you and watch over youMay God shine His light upon you and be gracious to youMay God turn His face toward you and grant you peace. In English, the word “you” is both singular and plural – it can refer to an individual…
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Into the Wilderness
There is a cartoon by the artist Mari Andrew showing two identical drawings of a woman holding a suitcase, staring at the road in front of her. On one side, she stares at an empty road ahead, and the caption reads: “I’m leaving.” On the other side, there is a road leading to a city,…
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When your fellow comes to ruin….
Woe to the person who falls on hard times! In ancient Rome, a creditor could legally imprison a person who owed him money in his own private dungeon. He could chain him to a block; sell him into slavery, or even worse. England had an infamous London prison called the Marshalsea, where debtors were sent.…
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New Beginnings
Passover is a time of new beginnings. The egg which we place on our seder plates represents the cycle of life and the chance for a new beginning. The parsley represents Spring. One of the names of Passover is “Chag Ha-aviv” — the Festival of Spring. Spring is also a time of renewal. The Talmud…
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Today we are bombarded with the comings and goings of the rich and famous on social media, television, magazines and newspapers. Scientific American magazine reported a study that a desire for fame solely for the sake of being famous was the most popular future goal among a group of 10-12 year olds. That is, when…
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Cultivating Humility
Our Torah reading juxtaposes two men who are of very different character. When Moses approaches Pharoah to let the Israelites go, Pharoah responds, “Who is this God that I should heed him and let Israel go. I do not know the God of Israel, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) Thus Pharoah asserts…
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Pray for Your Country
This Shabbat, as we do every Shabbat, Jewish congregations around the world will pray for the welfare of the government of their respective countries. The prayer in the congregation where I worship asks God to bless the government of the United States, its leaders and its advisors, so that they may govern wisely and bring…
Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph 