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Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence
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Shemini Atzeret — the festival that’s a paradox
Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence on the ‘Charlie Brown’ day which gives us a chance to think about change
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Ki Tavo
“And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this Torah ba’er heiteiv (very clearly)” Deuteronomy 27:8
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Va'etchanan
"Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan" Deuteronomy 4:41
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Chukkat
“Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank” Numbers 20:11
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Bemidbar
“You shall count them according to their legions” Numbers 1:3
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Acharei Mot
“With this shall Aaron enter the holy place” Leviticus 16:3
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Leave meant leave - but it took several steps to complete the Exodus
The four cups of wine represent different stages in the journey out of Egypt
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Shemini
“I am Hashem who elevates you from the land of Egypt to be your Hashem. You shall be holy because I am holy” Leviticus 11:45
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Ki Tissa
“Now the Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered’” Exodus 34:1
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Beshallach
“And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” Exodus 17:7
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Vayiggash
“How can I go to my father and the child not be with me?” Genesis 44:34
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Toldot
“Isaac loved Esau because the hunt was in his mouth and Rebecca loved Jacob” Genesis 25:28
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Parashat Hashavuah: Bereshit
“And the Lord set a sign for Cain” Genesis 4:15
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The universalist theme at the heart of our festivals
The High Holy Days ask us to look beyond ourselves
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Ruth, the outsider who became a role model of redemption
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The awkward questions to ask on Yom Kippur
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