Jul 13, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
Who is to blame for the destruction of Judea and the razing of the Temple? Every year during the three weeks, including the nine days and the ninth of Av, we blame ourselves. The land had been promised to Abraham and his children, and with fits and starts, that promise had been fulfilled and lasted [more]
Jun 15, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
In the process of preparing my d’var Torah last month (read here), I felt like I was grasping at straws to make meaning out of the hypertechnical nature of that portion’s limited plot. Thankfully, there is plenty of dramatic material in this week’s portion. The Israelites are still in the desert after their exodus from [more]
May 18, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
This past week’s Parsha, Badmidar, isn’t really my jam; I tend to gravitate more naturally toward the narrative-based chapters contained in Bereishit and Shemot over the intricately detailed portion of Bamidbar that we just heard; I prefer my Torah spoon-fed to me through colorful stories of fratricide, floods, and famine. So, at first glance, I [more]
Apr 21, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
The season of sefira draws our attention to the passage of time. We mark each day with an account of the days and weeks that have gone by. This ritual timekeeping follows the joyous celebration of yetziat mitzrayim, which is marked by a very different relationship to time. After hundreds of years in bondage, when [more]
Mar 31, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
As an infant, Moshe was bundled up and sent down the Nile in a tiny raft. Yocheved gave him up, still in vital danger, but spared from certain death at home as a Hebrew boy. When he was found by Pharoah’s daughter, she recognized that he was a Hebrew baby - based on his circumcision, [more]
