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Josh Scharff
Apr 22, 20243 min read
Parashat Metzora - Bringing People In
As we learned in last week’s portion, the Torah commands that any person infected with tza’raat is isolated from the community until the...
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Josh Scharff
Apr 22, 20242 min read
Parashat Tazria - Hearing the Cry of the Afflicted
The focus of this portion is on a particular skin disease - tza’raat in Hebrew, often mistranslated to leprosy. The Torah will dedicate...
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Josh Scharff
Apr 22, 20244 min read
Parashat Shmini and Grieving
So many of us have had reason to mourn over the past six plus months. The loss of life, our sense of security, friends who we found out...
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Josh Scharff
Mar 31, 20244 min read
Parashat Tzav - Loving What is Broken
For many years, the book of Leviticus to me seemed to be an impenetrable mystery. What could possibly be the connection between this...
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Josh Scharff
Mar 22, 20243 min read
Parashat VaYikra - Closeness
Parashat Vayikra marks the beginning of a new book, the third in the Torah. The book of Leviticus - VaYikra in Hebrew - is composed...
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Josh Scharff
Mar 22, 20245 min read
Parashat Pekudei - Facing the Uncertainty
In Parashat Pekudei, B’nei Yisrael completed the construction of the Mishkan, the portable tabernacle that will serve as God’s home on...
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Josh Scharff
Mar 22, 20245 min read
Parashat VaYakhel - The Power of Names
B’nei Yisrael, in Parashat Vayakhel , are in the midst of the process of constructing the mishkan , the Tabernacle that will travel them...
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Josh Scharff
Mar 22, 20242 min read
Ki Tisa - Celebrating the Highs and Lows
At the bottom of Mount Sinai, the Isralites set up camp and bid farewell to Moses as he ascended the mountain to receive the Torah....
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Josh Scharff
Mar 22, 20245 min read
Parashat Tetzaveh - Wearing Your People on Your Heart
Much like last week’s portion, Tetzaveh deals primarily with the operation of the mishkan, God’s dwelling place on Earth among the...
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Josh Scharff
Feb 20, 20244 min read
Parashat Terumah - Building Holiness, Together
Parashat Terumah is made up almost entirely of instructions on how the Israelites were to build the tabernacle - a holy place to worship...
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Josh Scharff
Feb 15, 20246 min read
Parashat Mishpatim - Being an Impartial Judge
In last week’s portion, the Israelites received the first ten mitzvot - commandments. But ten rules are not sufficient to build a...
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Josh Scharff
Feb 11, 20245 min read
Parashat Yitro - Sinai and Creation
For the first time in the book of Exodus, in Parashat Yitro the Egyptians do not play a major role in our story. Egypt and slavery is...
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Josh Scharff
Feb 8, 20246 min read
Parashat Beshalach and Leadership
Finally, finally - after generations of slavery and hardship, after being mistreated as strangers in a strange land for too many years,...
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Josh Scharff
Feb 4, 20245 min read
Parashat Bo - Struggling Against Darkness
John Martin, 1823. Then GOD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I...
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Josh Scharff
Jan 24, 20243 min read
Parashat Vaera - Unable to Hear
In the second parasha of Exodus, God will send Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and will begin to unleash wonders, plagues, on Egypt that will...
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Josh Scharff
Jan 24, 20244 min read
Parashat Shmot - The Exodus Begins
Parashot Shemot is the gate that welcomes us into the incredible journey of B’nei Yisrael, the children of Israel, from disparate tribes...
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Josh Scharff
Dec 29, 20233 min read
Parashat VaYechi - Moving Forward
It is hard to believe that we have arrived at the end of Bereshit, the Book of Genesis. It feels like just yesterday that we welcomed in...
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Josh Scharff
Dec 23, 20234 min read
Parashat Vayigash and the Importance of Crying
Your servant my father [Jacob] said to us, ‘As you know, my wife bore me two sons. But one is gone from me, and I said: Alas, he was torn...
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Josh Scharff
Dec 15, 20236 min read
Miketz and Shared Responsibility
In Parashat Miketz, Joseph’s dreams, and his ability to interpret those of others, become his reality. He is called before Pharaoh after...
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Josh Scharff
Dec 7, 20235 min read
Lights and Dreams for a Dark Hanukkah
Chag Chanukah Sameach! Happy Hanukkah! In these dark days, what a gift our tradition gives us, commanding us to remember the heroism of...
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