Ramaz

Parshat Naso contains the longest chapter in the Torah, describing the offerings brought by the twelve tribal leaders at the dedication of the Mishkan.

Each leader brings the same gift. Yet the Torah repeats the identical description twelve times.

Why repeat it again and again?

Check out the answer plus Shabbat activities, questions for your dinner table, and more in Dr. Noam Wasserman's Word of the Week Shabbat Column: https://tinyurl.com/2s8fe3c7

Parshat Behar introduces the mitzvah of Shemitah: Every seventh year, the land must rest. No planting, no harvesting, no normal farming for an entire year.

And then the Torah asks a question: If we cannot produce food, what will we eat?

It is a striking question – not just about food, but about uncertainty itself.

The Torah could have left this question implicit. Why does the Torah write the question into the Torah itself?

And, to open Parshat Bechukotai, the Torah does not say: If you keep My laws. If you learn My Torah. If you believe in Me.

It says something much stranger: If you walk.

Why is walking the Torah’s metaphor for religious life?

Check out the answer plus Shabbat activities, questions for your dinner table, and more in Dr. Noam Wasserman's Word of the Week Shabbat Column: https://tinyurl.com/cfhext3p

In Parshat Emor, the Torah commands us to count the days from Pesach to Shavuot. But we already know the date of Shavuot. So what exactly are we counting – and why does it matter?

Check out the answer plus Shabbat activities, questions for your dinner table, and more in Dr. Noam Wasserman's Word of the Week Shabbat Column: https://tinyurl.com/2v93wrk9

It’s all fun and games until you raise thousands of dollars for charity! 🏀💪 The Middle Schoolers participated in Hoops for Chesed, where each free throw earned them donations from their sponsors (loved ones who had pledged to contribute). Proceeds went to The Ariel Fund, which provides sports therapy to Israelis recovering from PTSD, and to The Mezuzah Project, which provides mezuzot to IDF bases!