by Rabbi Margie Cella
Parashat Bechukkotai, which concludes the Book of Vayikra, Leviticus contains a series of blessings and curses; which ones we receive will depend on whether we are obedient to...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Parashat Behar describes the shmita, sabbatical year, occurring every seven years as a sabbath for the land, when nothing is to be harvested. After seven cycles of...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Parashat Emor begins by delineating the laws governing the cohanim, the priests: they may only defile themselves to bury parents, siblings (brothers, or sisters...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Parashat Kedoshim contains the Holiness Code: God instructs the nation, “you shall be holy, for I am holy.” This is followed by a listing of mitzvot whose observance God...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
After the death of his two sons, Aaron is warned that he may go into the holy of holies only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, when he is to wash and don his priestly garments,...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
The centerpiece of the seventh day’s Torah reading is Shirat haYam, Moses’ song of praise after the people of Israel experienced God’s deliverance from Pharaoh and his army of...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
The Torah reading for the first day of Pesach tells of the night we were liberated from Egypt: each family sacrificing a lamb, spreading its’ blood on the doorpost and lintels...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
This week’s parashah continues to outline the laws regarding leprosy and bodily discharges. The categories of people that are declared unclean are: anyone afflicted with צרעת...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
This week is a three Torah Shabbat!
The weekly parashah outlines the laws governing a woman’s impurity after childbirth. She is unclean for one week, plus an additional 33 days...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
The priests finished their week of isolation; it was time to dedicate both them and the mishkan. The action took place on the eighth (שמיני) day. Moses commanded Aaron...
