Pericopa săptămânii, iudaism și Tora

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

Before I begin, a brief word of apology. I had very little notice to prepare for this morning’s drasha, so I ask for your understanding and forgiveness if the topic I chose fails to catch your interest. I hope though that the message will be relevant and meaningful, as I am planning to encourage everyone to make a very powerful New Year resolution…

A subject I really hated when I was in school was history. For the life of me, I could not understand how details about past events — most of which happened hundreds or even thousands of years before I was born — could ever have an impact on my life. Battles, rulers, plots, arranged marriages, political moves, war strategies — they were always kind of a blur in my mind, a mishmash without meaning, sense or purpose. 

It was only much later that I discovered and understood what history can do, how it can shape both present and future, how it can change our emotional state, our decisions, our direction in life, our destiny.

Today, I want to talk to you about a historical moment, or more precisely about the precursor of a historical moment. Hidden between the mitzvah of bikkurim and the blessings and curses for fulfilling or transgressing G-d’s commandments, there is a verse in our parsha that carries within it a very deep message. citește mai mult…