Collections of Thoughts and Poetry

#afterthedeath #achareimot #parsha #vayikra #parshatvayikra #moses #aaron #aaronssons #sonsofaaron After a break in the weekly parsha cycle, we find ourselves back in Sefer VaYikra and returned to the tragedy of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, who die suddenly at the altar. This parsha also speaks about Yom Kippur and the goat that is sent to Azazel and there is a great deal of material about forbidden sexual relationships. For my poem this week, I did not progress past the f

#daniel #barryandberta #danielsstory #parshatshemini #shemini #sefervayikra #vayikra #aaron #nadavandavihu #firefromthesky Parshat Shemini brings us to the inauguration of the savrifice, an introduction to kosher animals, fish and birds. It is the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s sons that I would like to talk about this morning. The rabbis go to great lengths to explain both the deaths of Nadav and Avihu and also the resulting silence of Aaron. Sometimes though, there are

#insevendays #sevendays #tzav #parshattzav #aaron #sacrifice #vayikra #aaronandhissons #sevendaysofcreation #covid #storms #disease #war #ukraine #destruction #creation Parshat Tzav specifies the specifics of the daily sacrifices, including the sacrifice of well being, the sin offering, the guilt offering and the offering of ordination. It serves as a service manual, much as the parshiyot that served as a building manual for the Mishkan. I wondered once again about that one w

#foursons #passover #passoverhagadah #parshatpekudei #pekudei #aaron #aaronandhisfoursons #nadavandavihu #sonsofaaron #thepriesthood With Parshat Pekudei we complete the book of Shemot. It is with precision and drama that the final touches are put onto the Mishkan and the cloud of God's presence settles over it. Aaron and his four sons are separated, trained and then blessed and anointed for their work in the Mishkan. I was struck by Shemot 40:12-15 which speaks about dressi

#oz #thet inman #theheartliesburied #tetzaveh #parshattetzaveh #clothing #aaron #breastplate #carryingtheweight #et #ETphonehome #undertheclothing #heartvignettes Dear Friends, Parshat Tetzaveh is another fascinating parsha; one that describes the clothing of the high priest. Again, as with the building directions of the Mishkan, the writing is detailed, colorful and crisp. Aaron, one of my favorite characters in Torah, wears a breastplate on his chest with twelve jewels,

#mistakes #taptap #withthesehands #thefinalpage #finalcredits #parshatchukat #wordshavewings #moses #aaron #tapinsteadofspeak #bookofnumbers #parshapoetry In Parshat Chukat, after a lifetime of service, after a transition from the Nile, to the palace, to the desert, to becoming an agent of God to liberate the Hebrews from slavery. After generations in the desert, after endless complaints and an endless stream of representing the Hebrews before God, Moses fails to heed God's d

#moses #crossingover #justreward #punishment #rewardandpunishment #endoflife #lookingback #lookingahead #reflections #mountnebo #mtnebo #thedeathofmoses #deuteronomy #parshathaazinu #finalwalk #aaron #miriam #angels #onemoreclimb #climbingthemountain #leadership #greatleaders #moshe #mosherabeinu #mortality #moses #mosestheleader This is another in a series of D'var Torahs from the morning minyan at KI on Wednesday mornings. This week's Parsha is Ha'azinu. At the end of the