Ki Tissa' 5781
03/04/2021 03:28:10 PM
Ki Tissa' 5781
A point of Hebrew grammar, leading to a nice idea:
Our parasha begins with the words “ki tissa’”. It is usually accepted that every Hebrew verb has 3 root letters. The root of “tissa’” is clearly the 3 letters “nun,” “sin”, “‘aleph.” But what happened to the “nun”? It has disappeared, and assimilated into the “sin”. [So, you see, letters can assimilate, just like people!]...Read more...
TETSAVEH/PURIM 5781
02/25/2021 06:00:44 AM
TEIn honour of Purim, we’ll change the nature of our devar Torah.
Here are some Purim jokes: scroll down for the answers:
What was Esther’s gown made of? (I know, a preposition is something you never end a sentence with!) Why do some people drink on Purim? The proper name for Yom Kippur is Yom Ha-Kippurim, which could be translated (well, not really) as “a day like Purim.” So, what do these 2 holidays have in...Read more...Trumah-Zachor 5781
02/18/2021 06:00:00 AM
Purim is this coming week, and with Purim, we complete the cycle of holidays observed during the Pandemic. [We were fortunate last year, as we didn’t have to close the synagogue until after Purim.]
Purim is the holiday of ve-nahafokh hu’, that is “topsy turvy.” i.e., the mighty kingdom of Persia was planning to exterminate the Jews, but we came out victorious. This was...Read more...
Mishpatim 5781
02/11/2021 10:57:13 AM
There have been several major news items this past week: impeachment of former president; vaccines; Montreal police; etc.
But let’s take a break from that and talk about the other major story: The Super Bowl!
Here is the story in a nutshell: the NE Patriots had been the greatest team in the NFL. Their prominence in the sport was due in great...Read more...