Behar – Bechukotei (5773) – The Chronological Imagination
I want, in this study, to look at one of Judaism’s most distinctive and least understood characteristics – the chronological … Read more
Tag: leviticus
Emor (5773) – Faith as a Journey
In its account of the festivals of the Jewish year, this week’s parsha contains the following statement: You shall dwell … Read more
Achrei Mot-Kedoshim (5773) – Of Love and Hate
At the centre of the mosaic books is Vayikra. At the centre of Vayikra is the “holiness code” (chapter 19) … Read more
Shemini (5773) – Fire: Holy and Unholy
The shock is immense. For several weeks and many chapters – the longest prelude in the Torah – we have … Read more
Tzav (5773) – Violence and the Sacred
Judaism is less a philosophical system than a field of tensions – between universalism and particularism, for example, or exile … Read more
Vayikra (5773) – Between Destiny and Chance
The third book of the Torah is known in English as “Leviticus”, a word deriving from Greek and Latin, meaning, … Read more
Behar-Bechukotai (5772) – The Limits of the Free Market
As I was writing this essay a newspaper headline caught my eye. It read, “The UK’s richest people have defied … Read more
Emor (5772) – Eternity and Mortality
Our parsha begins with a restriction on the people for whom a cohen may become tamei, a word usually translated … Read more
Achrei-Mot-Kedoshim (5772) – The Scapegoat
The strangest element of the service on Yom Kippur, set out in Acharei Mot (Lev. 16: 7-22), was the ritual of the … Read more
Tazria-Metzorah (5772) – Holiness and Childbirth
The sidrot of Tazria and Metsorah contain laws which are among the most difficult to understand. They are about conditions … Read more