Seven Minute Torah

The Torah commands: "Love your neighbor as yourself?" But who is the neighbor that I'm commanded the love? The answer is not straightforward. In fact, it's one of the great debates of Judaism. --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

Sacrifice? Demons? A scapegoat?? This parashah describes the strange, levitical practices of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. What meaning is there to be found for modern Jewish life in this ancient, priestly ritual? --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

How often do we dehumanize or ostracize people who are suffering from disease, poverty, mental health challenges, etc? This week we focus on some Midrash surrounding how you're supposed to treat people afflicted with leprosy. The Rabbis find some surprising and affirming messages embedded in this strange Torah portion. --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

Tazria is about scaly skin disease and priestly diagnosis. But when we examine it through the Rabbis' eyes, it is about our responsibility to each other in times of suffering. We explore a story from the Talmud that helps drive home that idea. --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

Sh'mini outlines the laws of kashrut - which animals traditionally may and may not be eaten in Judaism. How does liberal Judaism approach the rules and traditions around keeping kosher in modern Jewish life? --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

In this portion we find an obscure rule about the thanksgiving offering: it must be eaten on the day that it is offered. Turns out there is an important lesson there about our need for community. --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

This week's Torah portion is about sacrifice in the ancient Jewish Temple. It's a good opportunity for us to talk about the purpose(s) of prayer, and about how we can relate to prayer if we're not sure that God is on the other end listening. --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

The book of Exodus ends with the completion of the Mishkan - the portable sanctuary in the desert. Why do the Rabbis compare the creation of the Mishkan with the creation of the entire world? --------------------------------- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

In this episode we explore a Midrash on the Torah portion, in which the Rabbis talk about what it means to have a "good name." --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

A midrash blames the Golden Calf incident on the "mixed multitude" that accompanied the Israelites in the desert. What can we learn from it about acceptance and xenophobia in Jewish life? --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

This Torah portion is about clothes: colors, fabrics, hems, designs - the details of the priestly clothing. We talk about why the Torah goes into such a meticulous description, and what it has to do with our own spiritual lives. (Plus I sing for you!) --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

In the midst of a tedious Torah portion, the Rabbis tell a story that connects the building of the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary in the wilderness) with an audacious act of hope by Jacob 400 years earlier. --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

We explore one of the Torah's most infamous laws - the "eye for an eye" passage in Exodus 21 - to discovery what it's REALLY about, and what it says about the imperative for building a just society. We also briefly explore how this law undergirds Jewish views of abortion. To sign up for Rabbi Leah Berkowitz's class on Reproductive Justice in Judaism (this Thursday, February 8), visit https://laasok.org/current-offerings/#repro --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

We are traditionally taught that we ALL stood together at Sinai. And yet the Torah reveals that certain people and certain voices were excluded from that pivotal moment. I talk with Rabbi Dalia Marx about finding and recapturing those silenced voices, in order to create a more inclusive Judaism. Rabbi Dalia Marx is author of From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar. --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

In this parashah, the Torah tells the story of the parting of the Red Sea. The Rabbis tell the story of the brave person who made that miracle possible. In doing so, they turn the story on its head - they make it about OUR capacity for miracle-making. --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

The story of Pharaoh and the plagues is a story of how fear leads us toward actions that don't reflect our best selves. --- www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://laasok.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

The idea that God "hardened Pharaoh's heart" is a major theological conundrum. Does it mean there's no free will?? We explore what some of the commentators have said about this, and what it means for our own lives. --- https://laasok.org/www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

As we start a new book of the Torah, why does it sound like we're right in the middle of something? We talk about the significance of this transitional moment for Jewish identity and continuity, and for both Jewish and Palestinian self-understanding. --- https://laasok.org/www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

One of the subtexts of the Joseph story is the ongoing growth of Judah, who increasingly demonstrates an ability to take responsibility and to care about the needs and well-being of others. This makes him a secondary "hero" of Joseph's story. --- https://laasok.org/www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com

Joseph's story is the story of how holding a vision of a better world helps us work toward a better world. --- https://laasok.org/www.patreon.com/sevenminutetorahhttps://laasok.org/support-laasok/https://www.facebook.com/groups/sevenminutetorahgrouprabbistreiffer@gmail.com