Harry Rothenberg asks "How and why did Moses gather all of the Jews together?" View this video directly on Vimeo
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At the end of Genesis and in the book of Exodus, the development of the descendants of Jacob from a family (Genesis) into a nation (Exodus) is documented. I have been asked numerous times is Judaism a religion or a nation? Most classic religions do not only apply to a particular nation. A religion is a system of belief and a system of action, a system of thought and of ethics ...
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Community and the Temple – Parshat Vayakhel/Pekudei 5778
Building the Tabernacle for the Divine Presence requires a united Jewish people. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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This week we will be reading an additional section of the Torah that discusses the process of purifying one who became impure by contact with the dead. Let us consider the meaning of the concepts of purity and impurity in the Torah. The Hebrew word for impurity is tumah, which is related to the word timtum, confusion. Every time a person has an experience that appears to demonstrate that we ...
Read MoreThere is a certain relationship that is uniquely human and important. Harry Rothenberg tells us which one it is. View this video directly on VIMEO
Read MoreRabbi Mordechai Becher explains why does night precede day in the Jewish Calendar. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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Daylight saving time has recently begun here in the USA. So it has got me thinking about day and night and their significance in Jewish thought. We know that in secular law, the calendar day starts and ends at midnight, however, in Jewish tradition the day starts the evening beforehand. So for example, Shabbat, starts Friday evening around sunset and it ends on Saturday night when the stars come out. ...
Read MoreAlmost but not quite the entire Torah portion concerns one topic: the building of the Tabernacle (the Mishkan). What is the other topic and why does it appear now? View this video directly on VIMEO
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Don’t Have a Fiery Shabbos – Parshat Vaykakhel 5776
In this week's Parsha, G-d tells us not to kindle a flame on Shabbos, but none of the other 38 Shabbos prohibitions are mentioned. Rabbi Becher explains why this particular prohibition was singled out. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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The Talmud states that when “the month of Adar begins we increase in joy” because, as Rashi explains, this is the beginning of a season of miracles and salvation marked by Purim and Pesach. And this joy is not just a remembrance of times past, it is rather a current celebration of miracles and salvation. One reason for this is that Jewish tradition views time as a spiral, not as ...
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