vaethanan

August 13, 2015
By bethmordecai
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Parashat Vaethanan (2015/5775) Triennial II — All of Us Who Live

Parashat Vaethanan: All of Us Who Live This week's Torah portion is full of goodies -- the 10 Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-18) and the Sh'ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). By way of introduction, Moses reminds the Israelites that God made a covenant "with us" (עמנו) at Horeb/Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:2). Seems simple enough. But then he follows up by saying that "God did not make a covenant with our fathers" (לא את אבותינו כרת ה' ברית) rather did so "with us" (אתנו) "here today," (פה היום) "all of us who live" (כלנו חיים) (Deuteronomy 5:3). Why the extra language? Don't we know that God made a covenant with the people from verse 2? Isn't verse 3 redundant? Perhaps, but perhaps the extra language gives us[...]

Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class
Tag : online learning online parashah class parsha vaetchanan vaethanan weekly torah portion

vaethanan

July 19, 2013
By bethmordecai
no comments.

Parashat Va-ethanan (ואתחנן) — Are Certain Parts of the Torah More Important Than Others?

2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- Are Certain Parts of the Torah More Important Than Others? This week we read Parashat Va-ethanan which includes two of the most famous sections of the Torah -- the Shema and the 10 Commandments. It is customary for the congregation to stand during the public reading of the 10 Commandments, yet this custom has been debated throughout rabbinic literature because standing for the 10 commandments seems to overemphasize their importance. During this week's class, we will look at some of these rabbinic sources together as we explore whether or not it's appropriate to emphasize certain sections of the Torah.  

Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class
Tag : 10 commandments online parashah class parasha parsha torah vaetchanan vaethanan