Dear Scouts: This week’s parasha, Pinchas, is about change. The Children of Israel are making changes to prepare to enter the Land of Israel. In last week’s parasha, Balak, we learned how Moabite king Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites; but Balaam was only able to speak the words God told him, […]
Dear Scouts, This week we read two parashot, Chukas and Balak. Chukas includes several important events. First is the mitzvah of the Red Heifer (the Para Adumah), the procedure by which an entirely red cow is slaughtered and burned together with cedar, hyssop and a piece of crimson wool. The ashes of the […]
Several years ago, Rabbi Debbie Israel, spiritual leader of Cong. Emeth, Morgan Hill, CA and a supporter of Scouting, wrote a d’var Torah for this week’s parasha. We reprint her d’var this week in honor of her retirement from the pulpit this Shabbat. Kol hakovod (all honor to you) for your dedicated service. Dear Scouts, […]
Dear Scouts, In this week’s parasha, Shelach, we continue a theme begun last week in Parashat Beha’alotcha. At the end of theparasha, Miriam shares with Aaron something personal about their brother, Moses, which is not true. Even though she loved Moses and meant to help him correct something she thought was an error on […]
Dear Scouts, In this week’s parasha, Beha’alotcha, we learn some interesting lessons about leadership. Some men who had become contaminated by taking care of a dead body and were therefore ritually impure were unable to fulfill the mitzvah of keeping Pesach. They ask Moses why they should be diminished in this way. Moses does not […]
In the Diaspora (the countries outside Israel where Jews live) most congregations read Parasha Naso this week. In Israel and some Diaspora congregations that celebrated only one day of Shavuot, they read Parasha Naso last week, and will read Parasha Behalotecha this week. In four weeks, we who read Naso this week will read two […]
Dear Scouts: This week, starting Thursday night, after 49 days of counting the Omer, we celebrate Shavuot and the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. On the first day of Shavuot, we read the Megillat Rut, the Book of Ruth. Ruth’s story has many connections to this season. It occurs during the […]
Dear Scouts: In this week’s parasha, Bamidbar, God once again gives order and purpose to the lives of the Jewish people. God takes a census of all the “men of war” – those men over 20 years old. The tribe of Levi is counted separately because it will be devoted to God’s service. God establishes […]
Dear Scouts: This week, we read the double parashot of Behar and Behukatai. Last week, in Parashat Emor, we were given the mitzvah of counting the Omer – seven weeks (49 days) between the second night of Passover and the festival of Shavuot on the fiftieth day. The counting of the Omer marks […]
Dear Scouts, In Parasha Emor this week, the Torah covers a number of topics: laws regarding the purity of the Kohanim, including whom they can marry, what physical problems would disqualify them from performing duties in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and who is entitled to eat from the holy offerings of the Mishkan; what physical […]
This weekend is the BSA National Camp-in. If you want to participate in real-time on Saturday you can join via this link, but pre-registration is suggested: https://www.scouting.org/campin/ If you do not use electronics on Shabbat, BSA advises your local council website should have a link to see the event on Sunday (or perhaps Saturday night). […]
This week, I write in celebration of Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) which occur next week. Dear Scouts: Our double parashot this week, Tazria-Metzora, goes into great detail discussing the affliction of tzaraas and the treatment of those afflicted. Tzaraas is often mistakenly called leprosy, which is a disease […]
This week in preparation for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel) next Monday night and Tuesday, I study in memory of my great-grandmother, Rachel Leah Chodesh Poliakoff, and her daughter, who were murdered during the Holocaust. Dear Scouts, In Parashat Shemini, we learn about the inauguration ceremony for the Mishkan (Tabernacle). After […]
Dear Scouters, I know all units want to provide social media content their Scouts can do on their own during the Covid-19 emergency. Here’s a 49-day exercise your Scouts can do while being Reverent – counting the Omer! (Apologies for posting so close to yom tov.) Below is (a) a link to a […]
Program Note: If you are studying for or completing your bar or bat mitzvah you can work with your rabbi, cantor or religious school teachers to complete the Ner Tamid emblem for Scouts BSA. Your studies and efforts will prepare you to easily complete nearly 70 percent of the requirements. The Ner Tamid emblem will […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parasha, Tzav, has an important connection to next week’s important event – Passover, our festival of freedom. Tzav has very detailed instructions about some of the korbanim (sacrifices) that were given in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the desert, and later in the Beis HaMikdash (Temple) in Jerusalem. Some of […]
Program Note: With Scouts and parents at home for a few weeks, how about working on your religious emblems. Cub Scout emblems are a great family activity. Scouts BSA and Venturing emblems can double as scholarly activities. For more information, workbooks and applications see https://www.jewishscouting.org/awards-and-emblems/ Dear Scouts: For weeks we’ve been learning about the Mishkan […]
Program Note: With Scouts and parents at home for a few weeks, how about working on your religious emblems. Cub Scout emblems are a great family activity. Scouts BSA and Venturing emblems can double as scholarly activities. For more information, workbooks and applications seehttps://www.jewishscouting.org/awards-and-emblems/ Dear Scouts: For weeks we’ve been learning about the Mishkan (Tabernacle) […]
This week, for many reasons, I am thinking of the founder of the Order of the Arrow, Dr. E. Urner Goodman. Last Friday, March 13, was the fortieth anniversary of his passing. He lived a happy life dedicated to leading Scouts in service to others. Leadership and service are two of the themes of this […]
This week, for many reasons, I am thinking of the founder of the Order of the Arrow, Dr. E. Urner Goodman. Last Friday, March 13, was the fortieth anniversary of his passing. He lived a happy life dedicated to leading Scouts in service to others. Leadership and service are two of the themes of this […]
Dear Scouts, There is a lot of counting going on in this week’s parasha, Ki Sisa. It begins with God’s instructions that, when Moses takes a census of the Children of Israel, he is to do so by collecting a half-shekel from each person over 20 years old. The words Ki Sisa mean “to raise […]
This week I study with prayers for the return of good health – refuah shleimah – for a loved one, Batya bat Golda. Dear Scouts: This week, we read Parshat Tetzaveh. Now that the Mishkan (Tabernacle) has been constructed, God commands that Aaron and his sons be consecrated to holy service as priests (Kohanim), and gives instructions […]
This week I study with prayers for the return of good health – refuah shleimah – for a loved one, Batya bat Golda. Dear Scouts: This week, we read Parashat Tetzaveh. Now that the Mishkan (Tabernacle) has been constructed, God commands that Aaron and his sons be consecrated to holy service as priests (Kohanim), and […]
This week, I write in memory of Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, US Army Chaplain and former Scoutmaster, one of the Four Chaplains who gave up their lives saving others in the sinking of the troop ship USS Dorchester, February 3, 1943 (28 Shevat – last Sunday). Dear Scouts: Recall some of the formal […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim – Judgments. It discusses cases that come before a court. Last week, in Parasha Yitro, we learned how God gave us the Ten Commandments. We also saw that Moses, acting on the advice of his father-in-law, Yitro, established courts headed by distinguished members of the community. Since […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim – Judgments. It discusses cases that come before a court. Last week, in Parasha Yitro, we learned how God gave us the Ten Commandments. We also saw that Moses, acting on the advice of his father-in-law, Yitro, established courts headed by distinguished members of the community. Since we’ve been […]
This week starts our ninth year of Derech Tsofeh. We are fortunate to feature a d’var Torah by Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, the founder and Executive Director of the Kavana Cooperative, an innovative Jewish community in Seattle. Dear Scouts, Just last week, the Israelites experienced the Exodus from Egypt, crossing between two walls of […]
This week starts our ninth year of Derech Tzofeh. We are fortunate to feature a d’var Torah by Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, the founder and Executive Director of the Kavana Cooperative, an innovative Jewish community in Seattle. Dear Scouts, Just last week, the Israelites experienced the Exodus from Egypt, crossing between two walls of water as […]
This week marks the completion of eight years of Derech Tsofeh. Thanks to our readers and guest writers. Dear Scouts, This week, Parasha Beshalach deals with a recurrent theme in the Torah – water. Recall a few weeks ago, when we learned Pharaoh tried to control the strength of the Israelites, who […]
Dear Scouts, Last week, we learned of the first seven of the Ten Plagues. This week, in Parasha Bo, God sends the last three plagues upon Egypt: swarms of locusts that covered the entire land; six days of intense darkness; and the death of the first born of all people and animals, except the […]
Dear Scouts: Parasha Va’era teaches us about the first seven of the 10 Plagues: – The water in the Nile and everywhere else in Egypt except Goshen, where the Israelites live, turned to blood. – Frogs came up from every body of water. – Lice came up from the dust. – Beasts swarmed freely […]
Dear Scouts: In this week’s parasha, Shemos (Exodus), we begin the story of – you guessed it – the Exodus. Since much of the rest of the Torah is the tale of a 40-year hike, it’s appropriate that we are also introduced to a classic piece of Scout equipment – the hiking stick. In fact, we learn about the world’s […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parasha, 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 him back to Canaan to be buried. Before his death, Jacob […]
This week, I study thinking of all those – Jews and non-Jews – targeted for violence because of their faith, and pray for an end to such hatred. Dear Scouts, This week, in Parasha Vayigash, we come to the final act in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Last week Joseph, […]
Dear Scouts, This week we read Parasha Mikeitz, one of the most dramatic stories in the Torah. Last week, we learned that Joseph’s 10 older brothers sold him into slavery, and that ultimately he ended up in Egypt. The end of last week’s parasha covers what happens to Joseph once he gets to Egypt. The caravan […]
Dear Scouts, There is trouble in Jacob’s family, and we read about it this week in Parasha Vayeishev. Jacob’s 12 sons work in the family business – raising sheep – except for Joseph, who is 17, and Benjamin, who is just a child. Joseph is Jacob’s favorite, and the other sons sense this. Jacob even […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s parasha, Vayishlach (“and he sent”) is about sending messages. Jacob and his large family and household of servants, together with his many flocks and herds of animals, are on the journey from the home of his father-in-law, Laban, back to Canaan. Jacob knows he will encounter his brother, Esau. […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parasha, Vayeitzei, tells us about the 20-year journey of our father, Jacob, and his family. The title, Vayeitzei (“departs”), comes from the first sentence in which the Torah says Jacob departed Beersheva. Rashi explained that his departure is important, because when a righteous person leaves a place, he takes its glory, splendor and […]
Dear Scouts, I hope everyone is enjoying Thanksgiving, and their family traditions. This week, in Parasha Toldos, we learn about family traditions through lives of Isaac and his wife, Rebecca. They are childless, as Isaac’s parents were for so many years, so Isaac prays for children. The couple is rewarded with twin boys, […]
Dear Scouts, This week’s parasha is Chayei Sarah, “The Life of Sarah,” but it is really about her legacy. The Torah records that Sarah died at the age of 127, described as one hundred and twenty and seven. Our Sages explain this is because she was as beautiful at 100 as she was at […]
