This week’s d’var Torah is in memory of my mother, Ethel Block, Etel bas Avraham Avigdor, whose jarhzeit is next week. She was the sister, mother and grandmother of Scouts, including five Eagle Scouts. Dear Scouts, When people think about this week’s parsha, Noah, they usually think about water – how it rained […]
Dear Scouts, This week, we again start the cycle of Torah portions, with Parasha Bereishis. In the very first chapter of the Torah God makes everything there is just by saying things. “God said, ‘Let there be light’”. (v. 3) “God said, “Let there be a firmament [the heavens]’”. (v. 6) This was […]
Dear Scouts: I hope you are having good weather for Sukkot! This Shabbat we have a special Torah reading, because it is one of the chol hamoed (intermediate) days of the festival. The reading comes from Parasha Ki Sisa; the special portion is Exodus 33:12 to 34:26. In this special portion, Moses is speaking to […]
Tonight I write in honor of a baby girl born on Monday in Jerusalem to Jordan and Chana Oshira Block. Jordan is a frequent contributor to Derech Tsofeh. Everyone is doing well. Also, welcome to several new members of this list, who have just joined Scouting! Dear Scouts: This Sunday night, we begin […]
Happy 5779. As is our custom, in preparation for Yom Kippur, we republish thoughts from Jordan Block on forgiveness. Jordan, an Eagle Scout, is a rabbinic student at Yeshiva Ohr Someach in Jerusalem. We offer prayers for those who are in the path of hurricanes and storms. Dear Scouts: Yom Kippur is coming. […]
Dear Scouts, In Parasha Nitzavim, we read (Deut. 30:11-14) that the Torah is not in heaven, so that people would ask “Who can ascend to the heaven … for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?” Nor is it across the sea, so that people would […]
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 […]
This week, we study in honor of the first national gathering of the newly re-formed Jewish Scouts of Lithuania, who are conducting their SABAS MISKE (Shabbat in the Woods). Dear Scouts: Did you ever ask your Scoutmaster a question and he replied “Have you asked your patrol leader?” Or maybe you told one of […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s parasha is named Shoftim (Judges) because it begins with God’s instructions for the Children of Israel to appoint judges and officers over the people when they settle in the Land of Israel. The parasha outlines details for various kinds of court procedures, including how many witnesses are needed in serious […]
Dear Scouts, In this week’s parasha, Re’eh, God tells us “See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing: that you hearken to the commandments of the Lord, your God, that I command you today. And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of the Lord, your God, and you […]
Greetings from the National Order of the Arrow Conference at Indiana University in Bloomington. Dear Scouts, This week, in Parasha Eikev, Moses continues his review of certain important commandments given earlier in the Torah. He emphasizes all that God has done for the Children of Israel in bringing them out of Egypt using […]
Dear Scouts, Last week, we began the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) and began a review of the events of the prior 40 years – the redemption from Egypt, wandering in the Wilderness, and many of the events that occurred there. This week, Parasha V’Eschanan continues with retelling many of the things that happened […]
Dear Scouts: In parasha Chukas this week, we learn a great lesson through the failure of Israel’s greatest leader. Miriam has passed away, and the well of water that accompanied the people in her merit is no more. The people begin to complain about the lack of food and water. God tells Moses to take […]
Dear Scouts, David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, used to say, “What matters is not what the Gentiles will say, but what the Jews will do.” This is one lesson from this week’s parsha, Balak. As the Israelites approached Moab, King Balak heard all that God had done for the Children of […]
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 parsha Korach this week, we read about leaders who led down – in more ways than one. Korach is a member of one of the most distinguished families among […]
Dear Scouts, After many years of being ignored, the neckerchief is once again a popular part of the Scout uniform. Back when I was a young Scout, a we always wore a neckerchief with uniform. They were 100% cotton and pretty sturdy, and we used them as bandages when practicing first aid […]
Dear Scouts, In this week’s parsha, Behaalotecha, we learn of many separations. God commands Moses to light the Menorah, which has seven lamps. Doing so creates a separation between the light and darkness, as the Torah says, “The seven lamps shall cast light on the Menorah.” Then God commands Moses to separate […]
Howdy! I write to you from Dallas, Texas and the national annual meeting of the Boy Scouts of America. This week the National Jewish Committee on Scouting has been meeting, working to bring Scouting to more Jewish youth. You can help by inviting a friend to join you in the fun and adventure of Scouts! […]
This weekend we celebrate Shavuot, the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. Dear Scouts: This week, we begin the book of Bamidbar (which means “In the Desert” but is usually called “Numbers” in English referring to all the counting that goes on) with the parsha Bamidbar. This parasha is all about organization; it’s […]
Dear Scouts: After Passover, we learned about the seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer). Recall the number 7 represents completion, and how Sefirat HaOmer commemorates our completion of the journey from the spiritual slavery of ancient Egypt to the spiritual freedom represented by the Torah. The Torah teaches us that real freedom […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parasha, Pinchas, includes a favorite episode of mine from the wanderings in the Wilderness. As the Children of Israel prepare to enter the Land that God has promised to their ancestors, God has Moses and Elazar the Kohen take a census, and gives instructions for determining how to divide the Land. Within […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parsha, Emor, shows us an interesting example of continuity. For the last few weeks we have learned about the new life that the Jewish people will lead when they enter their Land. Much of the instruction – the mitzvot – has centered around the worship of God: building a Tabernacle where we can […]
Dear Scouts: This week, we learn the dual portions Acharei Mot and Kedoshim (holy things). The parsha 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 parsha also teaches us to be […]
This week, I write in memory of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, a famous scholar and leader of the Jewish community, whose yahrzeit was this week. Dear Scouts, In the double portion of Tazria-Metzora, having completed the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the inauguration of the Kohanim and the Mishkan itself, the Torah turns us to […]
This week, as we complete Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), I study in memory of my great-grandmother, Rachel Leah Chodesh Poliakoff and her daughter, who were killed during the Holocaust. Dear Scouts, For several weeks before Passover, we learned about the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) that would serve as the place where the Children […]
This week’s d’var Torah is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, who was assassinated 50 years ago today. Just as we recall our struggle for freedom 3,300 years ago, we should recall those who have struggled for freedom in modern times. Dear Scouts, I hope you had a wonderful time at your […]
This week, I write in gratitude for the birth of a baby girl to Tirza and Brian Block, born yesterday. This week’s d’var Torah is taken from a prior work by our frequent contributor, Jordan Block, of Yeshiva Ohr Sameach. Dear Scouts: On Friday night, we begin Passover (Pesach) with the first seder. Starting the […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s parsha, 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 […]
Dear Scouts, This week, Parsha 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 […]
Dear Scouts: This week, we read two parshot, Vayakhel and Pekudei. In leap years of the Jewish calendar, we would read Pekudei next week. Vayakhel is the last of the three Torah portions where we learn about the constuction of the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – that was our place of worship during the Exodus […]
Greetings from Jerusalem, where we are celebrating Shushan Purim, and the birth of a baby boy to Jocelyn and Adam Block. Dear Scouts: In Parshat 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 […]
Dear Scouts, This week, Parsha Tetzaveh (command) is all about the Kohanim (Priests). In fact, this is the only portion of the Torah after Parsha Shemos that does not mention the name Moses, though it is clear God is giving him instructions. For example, God describes Aaron, who is to be High Priest, as “Aaron, […]
February is Inclusion Month for people with disabilities. This week, we honor those Scouts and leaders whose Cub packs, Scout troops, Venturing crews and Sea Scout ships welcome Scouts and Scouters whose abilities may differ from those of other people. Dear Scouts, This week, in Parshat Terumah, we study about the Mishkan (Tabernacle) that God […]
Happy 108th birthday, Boy Scouts of America! 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 translateAseret Hadivrot as the Ten Statements. So last week’s lesson was about God’s statements. […]
This week marks the beginning of the seventh year of Derech Tzofeh. To celebrate, we are honored to have a guest d’var Torah from Rabbi Josh Feigelson, the dean of students at The University of Chicago Divinity School. Rabbi Feigelson is an Eagle Scout and a former national chief of the Order of the Arrow. […]
This week marks the end of the sixth year of Derech Tzofeh. To celebrate, we are re-posting a guest d’var Torah from Rabbi Justus Baird, who is the Dean of Auburn Seminary in New York, written for the completion of our second year. Rabbi Baird is an Eagle Scout and a former Southern Region Chief […]
Dear Scouts, Last week, we learned of seven plagues that God imposed upon the Egyptians. This week, in parsha 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, […]
Dear Scouts, This week, the name of our parsha, 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 […]
Dear Scouts, This week, we start the book Shemot, with a parasha also called that. In English, Shemot is called Exodus, which is really a Greek word meaning “road out.” In Hebrew, Shemot means “names”. The parsha is called “Names” because it opens by reciting the names of Jacob’s sons; the sons are the heads […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parsha, Vayechi, is taken up with the death of the last of the Patriarchs, Jacob, and his son, Joseph. Jacob is very old and knows that he will die soon. He asks Joseph to promise that Joseph will take Jacob back to Canaan to be buried. Before his death, Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons Ephraim […]
