Rabbi Levin's Blog

Avraham and Sarah were the father and mother of the Jewish people. They made great sacrifices and bucked all the trends.  In a generation overcome by idol worship they, alone, believed in one G-d and publicized that belief at great danger.  Avraham was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod and, with Hashem’s help, miraculously survived.  They had many challenges and tests of faith, but they endured, and gradually created a huge following of hundreds of thousands of believers. Hashem rewarded them greatly, as we read in this week’s Parsha.  One reward was the “Covenant Between the Parts,” in which Hashem promises the land of Canaan (what would later be known as Israel) to Avraham’s descendants.  Later, when a barren Sarah convinced Avraham to marry her maidservant Hagar, Yishmael was born and Hashem told Avraham to circumcise himself and his household as a sign of the covenant they entered into.  The word “bris” - covenant - appears 13 times in this Parsha, signifying that 13 covenants

“Noach was a complete Tzaddik (righteous man) in his generation,” says the opening verse of this week’s Torah portion.  Note the words “in his generation,” which begs the question, why qualify it?  Was he actually a Tzaddik or were the people of his times just that bad?     Our Sages discussed this question in the Talmud, and gave two distinct answers.  One opinion says that the Torah is extolling Noach’s greatness.  Even in his generation, when the entire world was corrupt, as the Torah states “Vatimalle Ha’aretz Chamas” – the world was filled with robbery and mayhem, Noach remained a Tzaddik.  Imagine if he were living in a great generation, how much greater would he be! The second opinion takes a different approach.  In his generation, compared to the corrupt people in the world, he was a Tzaddik.  If he had lived alongside Avraham, however, he would not have been considered righteous. Why?  Why disparage Noach?  There is an old saying:  If you don’t have something nice to say, don’

“Our love is stronger than their hate.”  I heard these powerful words from my colleague Rabbi Shneor Ashkkenazi.  We persevere, and we will always persevere, because despite our differences, despite our occasional strife, deep down we are a people who love each other.  And that is stronger than any enemy or any threat to our existence. The first ever terrorist attack is recorded in this week’s Parsha, as we begin the new cycle of Torah reading.  25% of the population of the world was destroyed when Kayin (Cain), one of only four people in existence, killed his brother Hevel (Abel) after a small argument.  The Midrash (Pirkei DeRabbi Elazar 21) tells a story that Adam and Chava (Eve) were sitting and crying after Hevel was killed, not knowing what to do.  Then a raven came along and buried the body of a dead raven, so Adam and Chava followed suit and buried Hevel. This Midrash needs a deeper look.  How could Adam and Chava not know what to do with Hevel’s body?  Hashem had told them pre

  Moadim Lesimcha, happy Sukkot! “Simchat Torah,” the final day of this glorious holiday, celebrated this Saturday night and Sunday, is usually translated as “rejoicing with the Torah,”  which is exactly how we spend the day.  We celebrate the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah reading and immediately begin  the cycle anew.   But the literal translation of the two words “Simchat Torah,” is actually “the joy of the Torah,” or “the Torah’s joy.”  And in fact our Sages teach that both meanings are correct.  We celebrate with the Torah, and the incredible gift and opportunity of living a life of meaning and connection to Hashem.  In addition, the Torah “celebrates” its completion and restarting.   There is one major problem –the Torah scroll is inanimate and has no way to physically express its joy.  So on this day of Simchat Torah, we become the Torah’s feet, so to speak.  When we dance with the Torah as an expression of our own joy, we give the Torah the ability to dance and celebra