Monday, March 28, 2016

Shemini, Parshat Parah - Reconstructionist

Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Rabbi Steven Pik-Nathan for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Strange Fire ... a Midrashic Reconstruction on Nadav and Avihu


The parashah this week is Shemini. Instead of a traditional d'var Torah I am sharing with all of you an original midrash I wrote about Nadav and Avihu. These two sons of Aaron, the High Priest, after seeing Divine fire come down from heaven and devour the first sacrifice made in the newly-dedicated Mishkan (Sanctuary), decide to take matters into their own hands. They bring a "strange fire" before God, that God had not commanded them, and their punishment was that they were then devoured by Divine fire. The rabbis have commented on this for years, questioning whether Nadav and Avihu were simply brash, arrogant upstarts, or if perhaps there was another reason.

I like to think of Nadav and Avihu as the first Reconstructionists.

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Monday, March 21, 2016

Tzav - Reconstructionist

Leviticus 6:1−8:36

Rabbi Jeffrey Schein for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities


The Ascending Heart


A colleague of mine once summarized the inner power of Judaism in the following way: Judaism challenges us "to ethicize ritual, and ritualize ethics." Last week in this column we had a chance to explore what might be problematic in 20th/21st century Jewish life when ethics were stripped of ritual richness. This week, in parashat Tzav we see the opposite dynamic at work: the ethicizing of ritual.

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Monday, March 14, 2016

Shabbat Zachor; Vayikra - Reconstructionist

Leviticus 1:1−5:26

Rabbi Steven Pik-Nathan for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Structure


This week we begin reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra/Leviticus. The parashah is also called Vayikra, as the first parashah of each of the five books of the Torah takes the name of the book itself. There is a long-standing tradition within Judaism that when young children begin to study Torah they begin with Vayikra. Now if I were to choose a place to start I might choose the intricate family dynamics of Bereshit or the drama of slavery and redemption found in Shemot. I certainly would not choose the book of Vayikra with its detailed descriptions of animal sacrifices and intricate laws and regulations. And yet there is great wisdom to our Sages' decision to begin Torah study with Vayikra. For in many ways the central (third) book of the five books of the Torah is the centerpiece of what it means to be a Jew, if not a human being. No, we do not sacrifice animals. No we do not observe all of the laws and regulations of Vayikra. But we do need structure. We do need teachings to follow. And that is what Vayikra is about.

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Monday, March 7, 2016

Pekudei - Reconstructionist

Exodus 38:21-40:38

Rabbi Steven Pik-Nathan for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Shadows


This week's parashah is Pekudey, the final portion in the book of Shemot (Exodus). In this parashah we read of the actual construction of the Mishkan (tabernacle) and the anointing of Aaron and his son as cohanim (priests) by Moses. Once again in analyzing this parashah Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg brings up the image of fire as central to our understanding of the text.

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