Reading Torah Through Grief
Parashat Ha’Azinu: Healing Ourselves
What is God's role in moving through life to death?
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Ethical Wills
Although we might think of the Torah as being about the past, detailing the origins of the cosmos, the planet ...
Parashat Ki Teitzei: Carrying the Burden
We aren’t expected to pull ourselves up without help.
Parashat Matot-Masei: Marking the Miracles
Many of the moments we once took for granted can be appreciated as miracles if we only stop to notice.
Parashat Matot: Honoring Wishes
Sometimes our promises to the dying cannot be fulfilled.
Parashat Balak: A Good Eye
As the curtain falls on a particular life story, the instinct is to construct a narrative that amplifies their better qualities.
Parashat Chukat: Acknowledging Our Blessings
The sudden disappearance of water after the death of Miriam reminds to appreciate our blessings while we have them.
Parashat Behar: Advance Planning
Having some logistics in place can alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding a loved one's death.
Parashat Bechukotai: Great Loss
The curses in this week's portion are a reminder of the calamities we all face.
Parashat Kedoshim: Caring for Our Bodies
As a rabbi, I have been asked many times what it means to be holy. Most literally, the Hebrew word ...
Parashat Achrei Mot: Space to Grieve
Aaron's silence after the death of his sons confirms what we know: Death should not be explained away.
Parashat Metzora: Healing From the Mysterious and Incomprehensible
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Metzorah, is primarily concerned with a peculiar biblical affliction called tzaraat (tzah-RAH-at). Commonly mistranslated as ...
Parashat Tazria: Birth, Death and the Sanctity of the Liminal
Parshat Tazria deals with two subjects that at first appear quite at odds: the rituals following the birth of a ...
Parashat Pekudei: Opening Ourselves Up
How many of us who are grieving put up screens in our lives in order to get through the day?
Parashat Shoftim: Justice, Death and Uncertainty
Judaism provides for the liminal, confusing period of grief with a series of stages.