The Weekly Mission- Torah Portion by Isaiah Rothstein

Parshat Terumah The Case: Limmud is a three-day conference where Jews of all denominations come together to study through seminars about topics related to Judaism and beyond. The beautiful thing about Limmud is the fact that it reminds all of us about the greatest words of our sages: “Who is wise? One who learns from everyone.” [i] . I learned a powerful message from a class entitled, “Feminine Oppression in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch” [ii] . The lessons I learned from this session had nothing to do with any degradation of our tradition, nor did it concern the session leaders’ false statements regarding the “sources referring to sexual intimacy.” Rather, I realized, that many beautiful and holy concepts within Judaism have been disguised and delegitimized by secular society. According to this teacher at Limmud, sexual intimacy within the realm of halachik parameters is a male-driven act that is consequently oppressive to women. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states, ...

Chag Tu’B’Shvat Samayach-What Does Man and Nature Share in Common Please note: Man-is directed to the human species. Man, Adam was “male and female HE created them.” [i] In the many different parshiot in the Torah we see references to nature. To share examples, in Parshat Korach the verse states “The earth swallowed them and their house.” In addition, we see in Parshat Noach-“the dove came back to him in the evening- and behold! An olive leaf…” moreover, we see at the receiving of the Torah in this week’s parsha, the verse states “all of mount Sinai was smoking…and the entire mountain shuddered exceedingly.” Nature continuously is seen as an integral part to many narratives within the Torah. It is almost as if it, nature, was serving as a witness, an essential player, within oppositional circumstances. As Moshe’s leadership was near expiration, he pleads for the Jewish people to remember his teachings—for each and every generation, he uses the most powerful of all oaths and cal...

Parshat Bo: This week marks my four year anniversary since starting the Weekly Mission, thank you for reading, spread the love… Thus, the verse states “It shall be for a sign upon your arm and between your eyes, for G-d took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand (13:16)” As the qualities of nature deteriorated before their very eyes, The Children of Israel began to prepare for the greatest salvation the Jewish people have experienced thus far. For 430 years our brothers and sisters remained in Egypt. We went from being second in command-Joseph, to slaves being demoralized and robbed of human rights. After generations of barbarity the national confidence and wholeness of the Jewish people was lost, what happened? In our own individual lives we know the amount of pressure we can and cannot handle. If one is constantly called a failure by others, than eventually that victim of abuse will undoubtedly feel like a failure. If someone is born into a generation of martyrdom, la...