Today is April 19, 2024 /
Today is April 19, 2024 /
Building Community Since 1954
A Progressive Conservative Synagogue Serving Central Florida
(407) 647-3055 | manager@tiflorida.org
50 S. Moss Rd., Winter Springs, FL 32708
Fire, smoke, sprinkled blood and two goats destined for the altar and the wilderness. For most of us, not the most spiritually moving material. Where are the calls to teshuvah, repentance? (Hint: check the haftarah) Where are the great appeals to God’s compassion and mercy? (Look at the translations of the prayers). What an uninspiring Continue Reading »
A song? The whole of Torah. Moses’ final words. His last chance to speak to the people. The ultimate witness for and against our people. A song. Broadway may say, always finish with a song, but does it make any sense here? Songs and poetry in general are an excellent way of imparting wisdom with Continue Reading »
Choose life by loving the Lord your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. If it is so simple, why don’t more people do it? Well… if you want to lose weight, eat smaller portions, stick to healthy food and get moderate exercise. Pretty simple too. We know more about nutrition, anatomy, psychology, Continue Reading »
The word curse has a bad reputation. We use it now mostly to describe swear words or foul language. If we think about it more than that, we conjure up images of cackling witches laying down curses upon superstitious peasants. So when Moses launches into his list of curses in this Parashah of Ki Tavo, Continue Reading »
Law is portrayed as the opposite of mercy. Law is the unbreakable wall of justice, the hammer of right to cow criminals and beat society into order. But with Torah, the law can be compassionate. Those who are in the right are limited. Those in the wrong are protected from cruel justice. Ki Teitzei has Continue Reading »
Shoftim covers many sub-topics of Justice, from fair judges to distinguishing between murder and manslaughter to dealing with an unsolved death. We may not be able to enforce these laws under current conditions, but studying them should be high on our to-do list. One that stands out and which we can and must obey as Continue Reading »
Our money, our food, our worship, our kindness – all are set out by Torah. Many of them in this parashah of Re’eh. We are told that with Torah and the land of Israel in our possession, things won’t be like they used to. People won’t be able to just do as they please but Continue Reading »
Some things are best left in Hebrew where most of us can’t understand them. There is a certain blissfulness that comes from hearing the Torah chanted and not understanding a word of it. If it starts talking about bodily ailments or fluids, we remain lulled by the sweet melody and trope of our heritage. We Continue Reading »
The laws of ritual purity can seem daunting and esoteric, but for the most part we can find ways to connect to the idea of physical holiness. In fact they are a good reminder that holiness and spirituality are not ethereal concepts but have real world impact. When it comes to tzara’at though, we have Continue Reading »
What a combo: Jubilant celebration of the new Tabernacle and its Kohanim complete with blessings for all. Quick flashy death of two of Aaron’s sons under mysterious circumstances. All capped off with regulations on what kinds of animals we can and cannot eat. All in all, a fairly typical Parashah from Vayikra. Leviticus seems a Continue Reading »