This week, I study in memory of my dear mother, Ethel Poliakoff Block, Etel bas Avraham, whose jahrzeit is tonight and tomorrow. She was a wonderful supporter of Scouting, and was the sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of many Scouts. Dear Scouts, This week’s parasha, Lech Lecha, starts the story of the Jewish people with the first Jews, […]
Dear Scouts, This week, we read Parasha Noach – the story of Noah. At the end of Parasha Bereishis, God says he has seen the evil ways that have been taken up by both humans and animals, and he is going to destroy all living beings, except Noah and his family. So God commands Noah […]
Dear Scouts, I hope everyone had wonderful holidays during the last several weeks, and has begun the New Year with joy. (That reminds me, I need to stop writing 5781 on my checks.) This week, we again start the weekly cycle of Torah portions, with Parasha Bereishis. Of course, we think of it as the creation of […]
Dear Scouts, We are in the middle of the festival of Sukkot, when we get to camp out in our makeshift huts and recall the kinds of booths our ancestors lived in during the Jewish people’s travels in the Wilderness. It’s interesting how Sukkot is just a few days after Yom Kippur, and how they […]
Dear Scouts, I hope everyone had a meaningful Yom Kippur. We tend to put a lot of importance on the “last” things we hear from people. You may have spent weeks in class studying a subject, but when your teacher tells you there will be a test next week and says “be sure to study […]
Dear Scouts, Shanah Tovah – Happy New Year! This week’s parasha is Vayeilech, in which we learn about some of the things that happen on the last day of Moses’ life. On that day, Moses installs Joshua as his successor. Because Yom Kippur is next Wednesday night and Thursday, instead of studying Vayeilech, we prepare for Yom Kippur with one […]
Dear Scouts, “On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, …” The Scout Oath. You’ve said it a hundred times at meetings. You promise to do your duty to God, your country, and yourself, to obey the Scout Law, to help other people, and to keep yourself physically strong, mentally awake, […]
Dear Scouts, This week, in parasha Ki Savo, the Torah instructs us about the mitzvah of Bikurim, the First Fruits. Each year after entering the Land of Israel, each family is to bring some of the first of its harvest to the kohen at the Temple. The First Fruits come only from the seven special […]
Dear Scouts, Did you ever ask your Scoutmaster a question and were told “Have you asked your patrol leader?” Or maybe you told one of the other leaders you wanted to learn how to tie a certain kind of knot, and got the response “Is that in the Boy Scout Handbook?” Perhaps these discussions left you […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s portion is Parasha Shoftim (judges), which begins with a description of various community officers, like judges, whom the Children of Israel will appoint when they enter the Land. Very impressive, to have a job description written by God. But God understood that authority needed limits. When America’s Founding Fathers (surely after consulting with the […]
Dear Scouts, In Parasha Re’eh, we learn again that God has brought the Children of Israel to their new land to be holy, and to avoid the practices of the Canaanites. God gives several commandments, through Moses. God knows the people will be attracted to idol worship, and commands the Israelites to adhere strictly to […]
Dear Scouts, This week, in Parasha Eikev, Moses continues his farewell speech to the Israelites, which includes reminders of the people’s actions during their journey in the Midbar (Wilderness) and warnings about how the people are to live when they enter the Land of Israel. Moses explains the people are to remember the entire road […]
Dear Scouts: In this week’s parasha, Va’Eschanan, Moses continues his review of events that happened in the Wilderness as part of the Exodus from Egypt. Recall God had forbidden Moses to enter the Land of Israel, because he had not followed God’s instructions in asking for water from a rock in the Wilderness of Zin. […]
This week, I write in memory of my dear father, Norman Block, Nachum ben Nachman haLevi, whose jahrzeit (the anniversary of a death) is next week. Though he was never registered as a Scout, he was the brother-in-law, father, grandfather and great-grandfather of many Scouts, and he lived the Scout Oath and Law every day. […]
Dear Scouts, This week we read two parashot, Mattos and Masei. Much of Parasha Mattos is about the neder, or vow, and that once made, it must be kept. The neder is not a promise to do something, but rather is a promise prohibiting oneself from using or enjoying something, or forbid someone else from […]
Recently, I had the good fortune to spend six weeks in Israel, visiting two of my sons and their families, and welcoming a new grandson. My long stay reminded me of our connection to Eretz Yisrael, and because of that I want to post a favorite Derech Tsofeh of mine for this week’s parasha from […]
Dear Scouts: In Parashat Balak this week, we learn of the efforts of the king of the Moabites, Balak, to keep the Children of Israel from taking Moab. He has heard of the Amorites’ defeat at the hands of the Israelites and sends messengers to hire the non-Jewish prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam warns Balak’s messengers that he […]
I study today in memory of my friend and teacher, Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, rabbi of Congregation Rodfei Sholom, San Antonio, Texas, for 50 years. He passed away today. A seventh generation rabbi, he was a Torah scholar and community leader. He will be greatly missed. Dear Scouts, In parasha Chukas this week, we learn a great lesson through […]
Dear Scouts, The founder of the Order of the Arrow, Dr. E. Urner Goodman, used to say that leaders could either lead up or down. In Parasha Korach this week, we read about leaders who led down – in more ways than one. Korach is from one of the most distinguished families among the Children […]
This week’s Derech Tzofeh comes from Bruce Chudacoff, past president of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting. It is adapted from his weekly Torah comments for his Temple in North Port, Florida. Dear Scouts, This week is Shabbat Shelach. It’s a made-for-Scouting Torah portion and Haftorah. The Israelites had not left Egypt very long before […]
This week’s commentary comes from Bruce Chudacoff. Bruce has just completed eight years as chairman and president of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting – Mazel Tov! This week is Shabbat Beha’alotekha. It contains instructions on how to prepare the Levites for their tasks as the assistants to the priests. The second Passover takes place […]
This week’s d’var Torah is from Rabbi Susan Elkodsi, Rabbi at the Malverne Jewish Center, Malverne, NY, and chaplain at the last World Scout Jamboree. Dear Scouts, All the Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains of Israel recorded by the clans of their ancestral houses, from the age of thirty years up to the […]
This week’s d’var Torah is from Rabbi Art Vernon, Rabbi at Congregation Shaaray Shalom, West Hempstead, NY, and National Chaplain, NJCOS. Dear Scouts, Parashat Bamidbar finds the Israelites in the wilderness, still at Mt. Sinai, but making preparations to head toward the Promised Land. One of the preparations is taking a census of able-bodied men […]
This week’s d’var Torah is from Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser, Rabbi at Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and Past National Chaplain, NJCOS. Dear Scouts, Parshat Bechukotai (read together with Parshat Behar this Shabbat) imagines a number of dark, unhappy, and frightening fates that, sadly, can be all too real. We read […]
This week’s d’var Torah is from Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Executive Director, Institute for Jewish Studies, Chicago. Dear Scouts, Several years ago my children and I went to the Field Museum in Chicago. While we had been there before and seen the dinosaur bones and the dioramas of mammoths and mastodons, on this occasion we went […]
Dear Scouts, This week, we learn the dual portions Acharei Mot and Kedoshim (holy things). The parasha is an elaboration on mitzvot that God has already given the Jewish people in the Ten Commandments: I am God. Do not worship idols. Respect your father and mother. Observe Shabbat. The parasha also teaches us to be […]
Dear Scouts, In the double portion of Tazria-Metzora, having completed the building of theMishkan (Tabernacle) and the inauguration of the Kohanim and the Mishkan itself, the Torah turns us to learning the laws of ritual purity (tuma) and impurity (tahara). Many of these laws no longer apply, because we no longer have the Temple. The laws are confusing to us today. […]
Dear Scouts, During the last few weeks, we have learned about the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) that would serve as the place where the Children of Israel would worship God, the offerings to be made there, and the duties of the Kohanim (priests) in performing the services. Last week, in Parasha Tzav, we learned about the first seven days of […]
Dear Scouts, I hope everyone is having a good Passover. This week, because Shabbat is the seventh day of Passover, our Shabbat Torah reading is a special reading, from Parasha Beshalach. It is my pleasure to reprise a favorite d’var Torah from Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Eagle Scout and executive director of the Institute for Jewish […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s parasha, Tzav, teaches us an important lesson about continuity. Tzav continues the Book of Leviticus’s instructions about the Kohanim (Priests) and the holy services to be conducted in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and later the Temple. God gives us instructions about several of the offerings made in the Mishkan. The last several passages are about the week-long inauguration of the Mishkan, […]
Dear Scouts, This week, Parasha Vayikra teaches us all about the korbanot (offerings) that were offered in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The korbanot are a little hard for modern people to understand. A person who needed to atone for a sin he committed by accident would bring a kosher animal to the Mishkan. The person would rest his hands on the animal’s head (this act is […]
Dear Scouts: This week, we close the book of Shemos (Exodus) with the double portion of Vayakhel and Pekudei. The two portions are read on separate Shabbats during a leap year in the Jewish calendar. We end as we began, with an accounting. Shemos starts with a description of the “70 souls” who entered Egypt with Jacob. […]
Dear Scouts, In Parashat Ki Sisa this week, God commands Moses to take a census of the Israelites, with the count to be made by having every adult man pay a half-shekel. “The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel.” The money is to be used for the work of building the Mishkan (Tablernacle) […]
Dear Scouts, I hope you are having a happy Purim. Here’s a Purim Derech Tsofeh from a few years ago – one of my favorites, written with my son Jordan. When you heard the Megillah, did you notice that its characters exemplify the twelve points of the Scout Law? Trustworthy – The Jewish people kept […]
Dear Scouts, This week, in Parasha Terumah we receive God’s instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). During the last two weeks, God has instructed the Israelites in the basic laws of Judaism. In Parasha Yitro, God handed down the Ten Commandments. Then, in Parasha Mishpatim God gives the basic laws of community life, […]
Dear Scouts, Last week, we learned of the Aseret Hadivrot – the Ten Commandments. Hadivrot also has the root deber – speak. God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel by speaking them. Some scholars translate Aseret Hadivrot as the Ten Statements. So last week’s lesson was about God’s statements. This week, in Parashat Mishpatim, we learn about listening to God’s statements. The parasha begins with a list […]
This week, we celebrate the start of the ninth year of Derech Tsofeh with a guest d’var Torah by Rabbi Art Vernon, Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting. Dear Scouts, In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Yitro, the Jewish people have arrived at Mt. Sinai on their way from Egypt to the land […]
This week’s d’var comes from Rabbi David Lyon, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, Texas (founded in 1854), in honor of the anniversaries of Troop 806 (40 years) and Pack 806 (35 years), both chartered to the Brotherhood of the Congregation. This week also marks the completion of the 8th year of Derech Tsofeh. […]
Dear Scouts, Last week, we learned of seven plagues that God imposed upon the Egyptians. This week, in parasha Bo, God brings three more plagues upon Egypt. First is swarms of locusts: “It covered the surface of the entire land and the land was darkened.” (Exodus 10:15) Next comes three days of a foggy darkness, followed by […]
Dear Scouts, This week, the name of our parasha, Va’Eira – “I appeared” – sets the stage for what happens throughout the rest of the portion, one of the most eventful and dramatic in all of the Torah. Last week, Pharaoh became angry when Moses demanded that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt to worship […]
