Reflections from Rabbi Ellis

“It was on that very day that G!d took the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in formation”       Shmote 12:51

In the line above the Torah describes the triumphant exodus of the Children of Israel from the land of their enslavement, but how did we get there and what does this specific line mean to us?

For over...Read more...

Shmini is the third Parsha in the third book of the Torah. Shmini means eighth. It refers to the eighth day of the dedication of the Mishkan and the Kohanim. The last Parsha described how for seven days Moshe set up the Mishkan, anointed various parts of it and dedicated Aharon and his sons as the priest, Kohanim, of the Mishkan. Our Parsha begins on the eighth day, when Moshe finishes initiating his brother and...Read more...

Vayikra is the first Parsha in the third book of the Torah, Vayikra. The book of Vayikra is a departure from the previous two books of the Torah in both style and content. While sacrifices were performed throughout the first two books of the Torah, Vayikra proscribes for us how to perform them. Vayikra is the first book of the Torah that deals largely with Jewish law. We switch from a narrative based text telling...Read more...

Vayakhel is the penultimate Parsha in the book of Shmote - Exodus. Vayekhel takes place in the desert of Sinai opposite the mountain where G!d made his presence known to Israel. Vayakhel means he gathered this is the first gathering of the nation since Moshe returned with the second set of the Ten Commandments. All the tribes stand at attention to hear what penance G!d has set for us. What’s the price of sin, of...Read more...

This week’s Parsha is the eighth Parsha in the second book of the Torah Shmote - Exodus. We are now deep in the second half of the book, we have been speaking about the Mishkan, the traveling temple, and continue to speak about it. Last week we spoke about the basic structure of the Mishkan, the curtains, walls and furniture. This week we continue to speak about the Mishkan but our focus shifts from the structure...Read more...

Mishpatim is the six Parsha in the second book of the Torah. Mishpatim is a break from everything we have come to know from the Torah. Until now the Torah has been made up exclusively of narrative, this week we pivot to the other half of the Torah - Halacha/Jewish law. This week’s Parsha is a list of the laws that G!d tells Moshe to relay to the Children of Israel before we receive the Torah. The list of Mitzvot...Read more...

We are now in the fourth Parsha in the book of Shmote. The book started with Israel enslaved. The Parsha begins with Israel leaving Egypt and heading to… the desert. Last week G!d freed us from slavery in Egypt, this week we start learning the price of freedom. This week the young nation of Israel faces down foreign armies twice, the first time they run, the second time they take a stand.

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This week we start a whole new book of the Torah, Shmote. We are now starting the second part of the Torah. The last twelve weeks we witnessed the weaving together of twelve brothers into one family, one tribe. The next four books of the Torah will deal essentially with this generation, where we transition from a family into twelve tribes and then into one nation.

We start with a...Read more...

Vayigash is the penultimate Parsha in the book of Bereishit. It is an amazing Parsha, in it Jehuda breaks the pattern of intrafamilial competition that has plagued mankind since our beginning. For the first time in recorded history, we have one brother willing to die for his brother rather than killing him. In this week’s Parsha we finally see the reconstituted sons of Israel from which the nation of Israel will grow. There are several...Read more...

Vayeshev is the ninth Parsha in the Beresheit, the first book of the Torah. The title of our Parsha means to settle, it refers to Yakov who, the Parsha tells us, settles in the land of where his forefathers lived. Yakov’s role in our Parsha is passive, the narrative by and large takes leave of him here. Yakov decides to settle in the land as opposed to settling the land. In doing so he stops being a subject of...Read more...

With this week’s Parsha we enter into the second half of the book of Bereishit. Last week we finished with Yitzchak and for the rest of the book of Bereishit we are dealing with Yakov and his children. Our Parsha covers a twenty year period, all of it, except the first few days, take place in Babylon. Yakov starts off our Parsha poor and alone  by the end he is the head of a great household with four wives,...Read more...

This week is our second Parsha with Avraham and Sarah and effectively our last. Avraham and Sarah are both in next week’s Parsha, but they play minor roles as we transition to the second generation of our nation. Last week we saw Avraham doing everything he could to ensure himself a future. The theme of this week’s Parsha is the various paths that Avraham finds to that future, namely children. Our children are...Read more...

We are only a week into the Torah and already things aren’t going well. At the end of last week’s Parsha G!d already regretted making man, declaring that “all the thoughts and creations of his heart are nothing but daily evil.”  The only ray of light is Noach.  Noach finds favor in G!d’s eyes. The world is full of violence, bloodshed, and sexual immorality and yet there is Noach who can divine a...Read more...

Simchat Torah is different from other Chagim in many ways: Its name does not appear in the Torah, Yizkor is held on the first and not second day of the Chag and most importantly its Torah reading is unique to Simchat Torah. Every Holiday was assigned a special section from the Torah that we read during the morning prayer service. The section of the Torah that we read for every other holiday besides Simchat Torah is...Read more...

Haazinu is a small and impenetrable Parsha, like a black hole. I have different Chumashim strewn all over my living room. For each verse I must reference different commentators and translations in order to understand the literal meaning of the verse. Words appear here in forms that are rarely seen anywhere in the Torah. Rashi has to offer multiple explanations of the meaning of many words ostensibly because he...Read more...

This week we have a double Parsha, Nitzavim and Vayelech. They are the eighth and ninth Parshiot in the book of Devarim, the final book of the Torah.  The two Parshiot form a bridge connecting two thematically diverse parts of the book of Devarim. The first part of this week’s reading finishes the vision of the curses that will befall the Children of Israel in the land of Israel if we fail to live with joy...Read more...

This week’s Parsha is the sixth Parsha in the book of Devarim, the final book of the Torah. Moshe continues to prepare us for life without him in the land of Israel by illustrating the successes and challenges that we will meet there and reminding us of the commandments that will be incumbent upon us there. One of the main subjects of this week’s Parsha is how the nation wages war, what is permitted and what is...Read more...

This week’s Parsha, Reeh, is different from the three Parshiot that preceded it in the book of Devarim. In the last three Parshiot Moshe told us the story of the Children of Israel, our successes and occasional setbacks were all recalled in order that we learn from the past and find inspiration to keep achieving. This week our vision changes focus and Moshe starts talking about the future. We now shift our focus...Read more...

This week we read the second section in the book of Devarim and continue Moshe’s telling of the story of Israel. The Parsha is a direct address from Moshe, with some of the most memorable prose of the whole Torah:

.וְאַתֶּם֙ הַדְּבֵקִ֔ים בַּי-הֹ-וָ֖-ה אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶ֑ם חַיִּ֥ים כֻּלְּכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם

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This week we close the book of Bamidbar and bring to an end the wandering of the Children of Israel. The next and final book of the Torah, Devarim, is all words of advice and reprimand from Moshe; he tansmits them to us on the plains of Moab. Bamidbar is the hardest book of the Torah. The book of Bamidbar spans a thirty-eight-year period, yet the text only actually describes about six of those months. The only thing we know about the...Read more...

This week’s Parsha starts with a jump forward thirty-eight years. The Children of Israel are now at the end of their sojourn in the desert. Between the end of last week’s Parsha and the beginning of this week’s Parsha what happened? G!d doesn’t bother to tell us. Instead, we are told about a nation that is now ready to enter the land of Israel all of the people condemned to die in the desert are gone and we...Read more...

I met yesterday with a couple who first showed up in Poland in March 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They are refugees from the war, each with their own unique story and Jewish history. They have been active in the Ukraine refugee community and the Jewish community in Warsaw, playing an active role in connecting and activating the two of them. We spoke mostly about their future, and where they should seek...Read more...

This week’s Parsha is a strange one. The Parsha starts with a division of the different parts of the Mishkan to the  Levitic families to take charge of its dismantling, transport and reconstruction. The end of the Parsha is a list of sacrifices and gifts that the princes of each of the twelve tribes brought to the Mishkan on the days following its dedication. Spoiler alert, they are all the same. In between these two parts we...Read more...

This week we start the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar. Bamidbar means in the wilderness, it describes both the geographical and psychological state of the newly formed Nation of Israel. Bamidbar is the most difficult book of the Torah to read because we are in the same place at the close of the book as we were at the beginning, in the wilderness. Bamidbar is first and foremost about the risk inherent in freedom. The wilderness is the...Read more...

This week we finish Vayikra, the third book of the Torah, and not on the happiest note. This week’s double section is best known for its end, which is a list of forty-nine curses that are bound to befall Israel when we stray from the path of Torah, Mitzvot and an equitable society. The curses are horrible and though we do our best to read them as fast as possible, when it comes to thinking about the Parsha...Read more...