In this week's parsha, B'ha'alotcha, we are told that, once out of Egypt and in the desert, the Israelites kept the Passover holiday, offering the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, as commanded, on the anniversary of the Exodus, the afternoon of the 14th day of the month of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish ritual year. Then this happened:

This week, we read the portion of Shmini, which means "the eighth". It refers to the eighth day of the opening of the Tabernacle in the desert, which was actually its first day of regular activity, after seven days of inaugural rituals and sacrifices performed by Moshe, Aharon, and the other priests. On this celebratory 'opening day', we are told that the following tragic event took place: "Now Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his pan and placed in it fire, and placed on it incense, and brought it before the Lord; a strange fire which he had not commanded them.

 Hello, all. This week we are going to approach the parshat hashavua [weekly portion] - actually a double one, Acharey Mot and Kedoshim (we will just look at Kedoshim) - a bit differently than usual. First, we will begin with a bonus: an op-ed from the NY Times which, at no little personal expense, and through the magic of the internet, I have made available to you, right here. Just click, read (or skim, it's not that complicated), and then please don't forget to close the article and come back to me!

In this week's portion, we are told that Moshe, up on Mount Sinai for forty days receiving the Torah, is delayed in returning to the people of Israel, who are waiting for him at the foot of the mountain. The Israelites get nervous, and fear that he is gone for good, so they ask his brother Aharon, the high priest, to supply them with a new leader.

This week's portion is called Tetzaveh, which means 'you should command'. The word appears in the first verse of the parsha - "And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall bring to you pure olive oil, beaten, for light, to place as an eternal light." The Rabbis take notice of the word "command" here (and in a handful of other places in the Torah), and point out that the phrase  "speak to" or "tell" the children of Israel is much more common when God tells Moshe to communicate something to the Jewish people.

In this week's Parsha, called Yitro (Jethro, in English), the Israelites receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It has often been noted that this is not the name that we might have expected for what is, after all, the most important portion of the Torah. Yitro was Moshe's father-in-law, and was, as we are told at the beginning of the parsha, a priest of Midian - an idol worshipper. Why is this crucial portion of the Torah, containing the Ten Commandments, the giving of the Torah on Mt.

There is a remarkable story in the Talmud, in Tractate Avodah Zara(Idol Worship - it deals with the laws of idolatry) about Onkelos the son of Kalonymus (c.35-120) - it's on page 11a if you'd like to see it. Onkelos lived in Rome. He was a nephew of the Emperor Titus, who put down the Jewish Revolt and destroyed the Second Temple; he celebrated these events back in Rome, by building the Arch of Titus and the Coliseum. Onkelos converted to Judaism (a story in itself), which the Roman establishment did not like one bit.

This week's parsha, Eikev, is the third in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). In this, the last book of the Torah, Moshe delivers a farewell address to the Jewish people, who are about to enter the Land of Israel without him. He reviews the events of the past 40 years, focusing on the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the sins of the golden calf and the spies, and in general tries to teach the people the lessons they should have learned from the Exodus from Egypt and their years in the desert.