Toldot Text message

Parashat Toldot (Generations)

Life is not always lineal and direct. We will always find people who will cheat, will not treat you as you expect, and try to take advantage of you.  

In this section it is our forefather, Jacob, who will cheat his father and steal the blessing from his brother. Jacob has the same root in Hebrew as “crooked,” while “Israel” has the same root as straight and honest.

What will Jacob use in order to cheat? Garments.  The words begged (garment), and meil (coat) are related to two other terms in Hebrew. Begged has the same root as traitor (bogged), and meil has the same root as meilah, a type of stealing and cheating.  

Watch out!!! Some people may dress very well but under the garments they may hide some things…

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher, Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak z”l.

Vayera text Message

Parashat Vayera (Hashem appeared)

The story of Sodom and Gomorra is very special.

At some point, the people who were trying to hurt God's messengers became blind.

“And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door” (Gen 19:11)

Apparently there is a contradiction in the verse. The “bad guys” were at the entrance, they became blind and now they could not find the entrance, but the text already mentioned that they were at the entrance!!!

A proposed explanation: Each of them wanted to be at the entrance; they were fighting for the same thing, and therefore, nobody could find it…

If we talk instead of fight, if we make sure there is enough for everybody, if we understand others’ needs, even if we all are blind, many doors will be opened.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher, Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak z”l.

Lech Lecha text message

Parashat Lech lecha (Go forth)

The story of the Jewish people starts with the following words: 
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”
Translations sometimes can trick us. In this case the word “shem,” translated as “name,” can be interpreted differently.
“Shem” means “goal” as well. 
Being blessed, becoming a blessing, and making for us a name, cannot be accomplished if our goals are not clear.
Let’s check what our goals in life are and we can becoming a blessing to others.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher, Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z”L.

Noah Text message

Noah (and his family) is the only one who lived in three different worlds.

He lived in a world of corruption and lawlessness before the flood;

He lived in a world of destruction during the flood;

And he lived in a world of hope and rebirth after the flood.

Corruption, destruction, but after that there is hope .

The first thing that Noah does when he leaves the ark is celebrate, he got drunk.

Always remember that after the destruction comes the hope, and that is a good reason to celebrate.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Ree Text message

The Torah tells us in Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times a year you shall appear before the LORD your G-d in the place which G-d chooses…” 

What a powerful statement. Some people took it really seriously, and showed up for only the two days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur!!!

Besides the irony in my previous sentence, there is something important to learn from that phrase.

 In many places in the Torah, the word used for times is “regalim”, from the word “regel,” legs. Three times a year we had to do a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

But also, the word “hergel”, habit, derives from the same root. Maybe the Torah tells us that three times is the minimum and the idea is to create a habit to go and meet G-d.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Bechukotai Text Message

Parashat Bechukotai (If you follow my rules)      

Among the verses of this parasha we find the Tochecha, the rebuke that G-d gives the people of Israel if they do not follow G-d’s commandments.

Chapter 26:36 says: “I will bring despair into the hearts of those of you who survive in enemy territory. Just the sound of a windblown leaf will cause them to run, and they will run scared as if running from a sword!”

The image of the sound of a driven leaf making a person scared is extremely powerful.

Driven leaves usually appear in the fall, and it reminds me of a nice poetic phrase: “He fell in love with the flowers, but not with the roots, and when fall arrived, he didn’t know what to do…”

Roots are sometimes more important than beautiful flowers.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Behar Text Message

Parashat Behar (at the mountain)           

In Leviticus Chapter 25 (that holds most of the text of our section) three times we find verses that start with the following words:

“ If one of your fellow Israelites faces financial difficulty,” verses 25, 35 and 39.

The first verse talks about someone who needs to sell part of his property.

The second verse deals with a person that needs to borrow money.

The third verse talks about an individual who sells him/herself as a slave to pay a debt.

What I did not mention on purpose, is that in the third verse after the words, “ If one of your fellow Israelites faces financial difficulty” there is an addition, the word עמך , (with you).

In life, we do not know when we will need money or when we will be able to lend money, but we always need to remember not to leave alone those who are in great need.

The Torah reminds us with a minor detail, “to never let alone,” how important it is to help the needy.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Emor Text message

Parashat Emor (You shall tell)

In this section we are commanded to count the Omer. Every day between Pesach and Shavuot we add one more day.

In Biblical times this mitzvah expressed a strong agricultural relationship between the people of Israel and its land.

How can the Jews who live outside of Israel relate to this mitzvah, too?

I strongly believe that counting the Omer expresses our deep desire to be further from Egypt and closer to Sinai.

Every day that passes we are less slaves and more a holy people.

Rabbi Fabian Werbin

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Kedoshim Text message

Parashat Kedoshim (you shall be a holy nation)

There is an explicit prohibition in the Torah that has become very relevant in recent decades.

In Leviticus 19:29, the Torah forbids tattoos. The main reason for this prohibition is learned from the context in which it appears, and, it is that other nations used to have tattoos on their bodies (maybe some type of idolatry).

It is not a secret that many young people (and adults, too) have chosen to have tattoos on their bodies.

Here is where the Torah becomes more relevant.  During the Shoah many Jews were forced to have a number marked on their arms. It is difficult to understand how some may do it voluntarily…

The prohibition against making a tattoo on your body is still current, and after the Shoah, it gained a new significance.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Acharei Mot text message

Parashat Acharei mot (After the death)

The text surprised us…

Leviticus 18:3 “You must not do things like they are done in the land of Egypt, where you used to live. And you must not do things like they are done in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you.”

So… If you are not supposed to do things like in Egypt or Canaan, you are supposed to do things like… in the desert - in the Midvar.

The desert was the place where we received the mitzvoth, where we formed as a people, where we built ourselves.

The Torah is telling us, keep building yourself every day. Do not think that the start or the end is what matters. What matters is the journey. As Antonio Machado says in his famous poem (in Spanish):  Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. “Wayfarer, there is no way. Make your way by going farther.”

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Fabian Werbin

Shabbat candles in Bethesda 7:48

Shabbat ends : 8:49

Metzorah text message.

Parashat Metzorah (Leper)

You will have leprosy in your houses…

In Rashi’s explanation we can find the essence of Judaism.

“Heb. וְנָתַתִּי, lit. and I will give (leprosy in your houses) This is [good] news for them that lesions of tzara’ath will come upon them, because the Amorites had hidden away treasures of gold inside the walls of their houses during the entire forty years that the Israelites were in the desert, and through the lesion, he will demolish the house (see verses 43-45) and find them. — [Vayikra Rabbah 17:6]”

The essence of Judaism is turning a curse into a blessing.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Tazria Text message

Parashat Tazria (When a woman conceives)

The Torah speaks in this section mainly about skin diseases.  Skin diseases are usually related to impurity.

All of a sudden in the middle of the description, there is the following verse:

Leviticus 13:13:  “…then the priest will make an examination. If the skin disease has covered the person’s whole body, the priest will declare the infected person clean. If the person has turned entirely white, he is clean.”  If the disease covers the whole body, that person is pure.  If 99% of the body is affected, impure, 100% pure.

There are many interpretations to this difficult verse…

I would like to share a short story. When I was at Haifa University, I had a teacher who, in his first class, told us:  “You can only get 98 points in this class. 100 is God. 99 is the teacher…”

I didn’t like the idea of the 99, but that idea that only God is 100, I loved it!

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Shemini Text message

Parashat Shemini (The Eighth Day)

There are not many places where Moses makes mistakes in the Torah but even though he is a human being, a special one, Moses made mistakes.

Moses got upset with Aaron’s sons and it looks like they were right…

We always try to put some make up on the mistakes of great people to make them look better, but the Torah in this section presents Aaron correcting Moses his brother.

In Leviticus 10:19-20, “Look,” Aaron said to Moses, “today they (Eleazar and Itamar) offered their purification offerings and their entirely burned offerings before the Lord, but these things still happened to me! Would the Lord have approved if I had eaten a purification offering today?” ²⁰ When Moses heard that, he approved (he was satisfied).

Here we see Moses’ greatness.  He not only accepted his mistake, but he first listened to his brother.

How many times we fail not only by accepting that others are right, but we also fail by not even listening to others…

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Tzav Text message

Parashat Tzav (Command)

This section describes a special type of fire that was present in the tabernacle.  This fire must burn at all times, and may not be extinguished.

In fact these are the first words of the parasha.

Immediately after that, the Torah tells us that the priest had to clean the ashes (dirt) that were left in the altar.

We can learn a beautiful lesson from this. If we want to keep the fire burning all the time, we need to make holy even the most mundane activities. If we can find G-d even when we take out the trash, we always be able to keep the fire burning.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vaykra Text Message

Parashat Vaykra (G-d called Moses)

Humiliation is not a nice feeling. Those who are humiliated will forever remember the way they felt.

The Torah in this parasha teaches us a great lesson.

The same place where those who brought an offering to G-d, was used for those who brought a sacrifice to cleanse the sins.

Therefore, if you were an outsider, you would never know who was a sinner. Everybody was equal and nobody could be singled out and humiliated.

When we hear that we can humiliate eachother without consequences, we need to know that this practice was discouraged thousands of years ago.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Pekudei Text message

Parashat Pekudei (The Records of the Tabernacle) 

This is the last section of the book of Exodus. We are finishing reading about the tabernacle and the accounting of all that the people donated and brought to its construction.  It is a short parasha, and 18 times we find in it this following verse ending: “as Hashem commanded Moses”.

Eighteen is a number we know very well, it represents life and it is also the name our main prayer, the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei, “The Eighteen”).

Maybe the repetition is telling us that when you build something there should be a director, someone in charge, someone who commands; but we also need to be partners. We cannot sit and wait until G-d does everything. We need to do our share, and do “as Hashem commanded Moses”.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vayakel Text message

Vayakel (Moses assembled)
It is not a secret that we are called Jews after the tribe of Judah. From that and other factors, (David, Messiah, etc.) we understand that Judah was the “most important” or “highest valued” tribe.
The question is: What is the “lowest” tribe? The answer is: … Dan, and for many reasons (among them, Samson who works alone, Jacob blesses Dan as a serpent, the story of idolatry of Moses’ grandson, etc.).
Maybe that is the reason two people are chosen to build the tabernacle, Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Only when everyone is represented, when everyone is included, the “highest” and the “lowest”, can we build a place where G-d can reside.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Ki tissa Text

Parashat Ki Tissa (When you take the census)

After the golden calf, Moses comes back from Mount Sinai (to bring the second set of tablets) and he walks around the camp with his face veiled.

He survives on the mountain for over a month without food or water.  The people see him talk with G-d, but something is different. Now he has a veil that covers his face. Why?

Maybe the people needed to understand that when you break a relationship and you try to start over, there will be something that clouds the relationship and it is not going to be the same.  This teaches us that if you want to prevent the veils, you have to take care of your relationships.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Tetsave Text message

Parashat Tetsave (You shall command)

At the beginning of chapter 30 in the book of Exodus, we read about a second altar.

The altar is for the incense.

According to  the interpretation of Rabenu Bechaye Ibn Pakuda, the incense was the offering that was accepted the most by G-d.

According to his explanation, all the animal parts and other edible offerings were not going to completely disappear. Parts of the animals will be eaten, there will be ashes, etc., but the incense will vanish in the air. Nothing will remain.

Sometimes we believe saving will save us… The incense offering teaches us that sometimes it is time to give it all.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Trumah Text message

Parashat Trumah (offering)

I have some news to share with you… There are some contradictions in the Torah.

Exodus 25:22 says: “There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the Ark of the Testimony.  I will speak with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.”

While Exodus 29:42 (just some chapters later) says: ”This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.”

So where does G-d speak to Moses? Two different schools of thought: Rabbi Akiva goes with the first verse, the place was special to G-d; Rabbi Ishmael goes with the second verse, the place was special to Moses.

We do not know exactly where this happened. What really matters is that the encounter happens.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L