“When Moses stands in front of the tribes of Israel before they enter the holy land he gives a choice to follow the path of greed and exploitation or to…
Sometimes we have to tread lightly, even on holy land, so that we can recall the ultimate Source of food, wealth, and our own lives. The entanglement of humanity and…
That is Shmita. Stop plowing, stop planting, stop weeding, stop watering, stop harvesting in our normal ways (or the modern-day parallel to these things) and use that freed-up time to…
“On Tisha B’Av, we imagine that the land mourns with us. But that’s our human-centered way of seeing things. From God’s perspective, which is closer to an ecological perspective, the…
“They journeyed…and camped…and journeyed…” (Numbers 33:3-49). The nomadic lifestyle of the people, their constant journeying, encamping, and journeying once again as the spirit moved them served to remind them that…
What is so important about this story? It is not necessarily or only about equal rights. With our ‘shmita’ caps on, at all points at which this narrative is told,…
הִנֵּ֥ה בָרֵ֖ךְ לָקָ֑חְתִּי וּבֵרֵ֖ךְ וְלֹ֥א אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃ “Behold, I’m bidden to bless: And God has blessed; I cannot / will not reverse it.” (Numbers 23:20) What’s a blessing, anyway?! The root bet-resh-khaf, in…
“But Shmita teaches us that we are only guests here on the Land, and it teaches us that we are always planning for at least seven years in the future,…
“As the climate crisis worsens, the ground opening up and swallowing Korach’s band does not feel as far-fetched as it once may have. The earth is not an endless supply…
“Now if you should say to yourselves: What are we to eat in the seventh year? For we may not sow, we may not gather our produce! Then I will…
“and the people did not set out until Miryam was brought back” (Numbers 12:15) I have a thing for stories so the section of Behaalotecha that attracted my attention was…
At one time or another we have all been visited by “the green eyed monster.” Maybe you know someone who just bought a new car and you cannot afford a…
I have always loved land. Although a city kid, from the time I was five years old, I remember wanting to live on a farm. I loved seeing things grow…
Please enjoy this week’s video newsletter message. Full text transcript is below. We were thinking we might try and send out some videos as well as just written words,…
Then shall the land make up for its Sabbatical years throughout the time that it is desolate and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land…
Parashat Emor includes one of the Torah’s major accounts of the festival calendar. In Leviticus chapter 23, after the description of the Temple rites of Shavuot, the text repeats the…