Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger

By asking the priests to bless the people, God gives them an opportunity to serve as role models of caring for the people.

Numerous translators of the Bible understand differently the command to strengthen those that are falling low, but all agree on its importance.

The arrangement of the Israelites around the Tabernacle, as individuals and as a community, provides us with a model for pluralism.

The sexual relationships forbidden by the Torah are intended to prohibit non-Israelite religious practices and abuses of power.

The commandment to leave behind some of the harvest for the poor challenges our assumptions about to whom the food belongs in the first place.

The priest's role in declaring and treating leprosy, a physical manifestation of spiritual impurity, teaches us not to judge our own or others' spiritual lives.

Recognizing our fallibility can lead us to compassion and empathy for our fellow humans, and bring us closer to God and others.

Zealousness regarding the elevation offering reminds us to be careful in our service of God and others.

Recognizing God as a partner in all business dealings inspires us to conduct these dealings with the utmost care and honesty.

The prohibition against making an idol warns us not to fix our image of God, but rather to allow our conception of God to evolve.