Monthly Archives: 4 Sivan 5770 (May 17, 2010)

Parashat Bamidbar 5770 Word Salad When someone is suffering from a permanent loss of mental functioning, it is not uncommon for individuals with memory loss to engage in unintelligible speech, which is sometimes referred to as “word salad.”  This week’s parashah, Bamidbar, begins with a word that has more than one meaning, allowing us to see our human behavior on more than one level at one time.  For example, “bamidbar” is most commonly translated as a place, “in the wilderness,” for this is where we find our ancestors.  On a metaphorical level, “in the wilderness” can also describe where our ancestors were “mentally” and “psychologically.”  In order to grow into their new role of being a nation dedicated to serving God through a new system of ethics and morals, they needed to be in a place where they would not be distracted, in a place of emptiness, so to speak.  However, the opening word to this week’s Torah reading can be sounded differently to reflect a different reality, “bamidaber,” which means “in his speaking.”  Embedded in the first word is the Hebrew word “davar,” meaning “word.”  It refers to the fact that what follows is God’s words of instruction to … Continue reading →

Parashat Emor 5770 Another Look At the Significance of the Omer: Not All Wheat is What We Believe It To Be My cousin Richard came to our seders this year, all the way from Staten Island with a brief stop in Brooklyn. It appears that my favorite pickle place has left the Lower East Side and has a new residence in a place that has a greater Jewish population. The seder would not have been the same without the half sours straight from the pickle barrel, along with the green tomatoes and the pickles soaked in brine with hot peppers to go along with the freshly grated horseradish. It reminded me of the one year when my family celebrated Passover in El Paso with a family that was originally from Mexico and the jalapenos that we used for the bitter herbs, that made me cry on impact, were not hot enough for our guests.