David’s Corner – October 12, 2020
Genesis Thinking about Genesis this week, has led me to ask five essential questions about the mystery of HaShem and his/her role in creation. Does HaShem ever wonder who HaShem is? This may sound like a flippant question, but it really isn’t. As human beings we’ve been granted the gift of consciousness. With that gift […]
David’s Corner – October 5, 2020
Shimini Atzeret Deuteronomy. 14:22 – 16:17 Shimini Atzeret is the last wisp of the High Holidays, the last day of Sukkot, which terminates with the celebration of Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah has as its primary readings the death of Moses and Bereshit, the end and the beginning once again. What happens when Shimini Atzeret happens […]
David’s Corner – September 28, 2020
Sukkot 2020 Even before this year’s pandemic, Lakeside attendance for Sukkot has been light. Some of this is understandable. By the end of Yom Kippur, the High Holidays have left many of us in an enervated state. Too much shul already! But it is a little sad. The commandment to sit in your sukkah and […]
David’s Corner – September 14, 2020
Rosh Hashana 1st and 2nd Days: Genesis 22:1-24 Seven months ago we felt we were in great shape. Synagogue was a place we looked forward to being and all we had to do was show up. Then the unexpected happened. A pandemic reared its ugly head and we lost our bearings. Synagogue? It has […]
David’s Corner – September 7, 2020
Nitzavim-Va-Lech (Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30) HaShem works in mysterious ways… Remember how in Ki Tavo, the last parasha, HaShem appeared to hit the Israelites with tough love? By this I mean, if the Israelites did not obey all of HaShem’s commandments they would be destroyed by plague and disease and would be scattered to the ends of […]
David’s Corner – El Shofar September
Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8) As we are now well into the month Elul, our thoughts turn to our own lives, and how we have fallen short. The parasha of Shoftim has been one we have turned to in lifting our expectations to do better, to be more just. And we have not always […]
David’s Corner – August 24, 2020
Ki Tetsay. (Deutoronomy 21:10 – 25:19) The parasha ends with the troublesome warning about Amalek. The Israelites are to destroy the Amalekites for a surprise attack that killed off the stragglers, the hungry and and the tired, during the march from Egypt. Initially, this would seem straightforward enough. Amalek has acted in an unethical way […]