The two central acts that are the basis of Judaism and the Jewish people are the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of Torah at Sinai. Tuesday and Wednesday we celebrate the giving of Torah during the holy day of Shavuot and symbolically complete the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery. Our religion argues that there are two kinds of enslavement – physical and spiritual. Physical freedom is an essential but not critical first step toward living lives of dignity and meaning. According to Judaism, we must have a purpose for living, a goal and a map to guide us to that goal. According to Nahmanides, the great interpreter of Torah who lived in 14th century Spain, the purpose of Torah is to teach us to be good and to do good, to treat one another with kindness and with fairness. As he writes in his Commentaries on the Torah (Devarim 6:18) “… that it may be well with thee is a promise, stating that, when you will do that which is good in His eyes, it will be well with you for God does good unto the good, and to them that are upright in their hearts… Thus [a person must seek to refine his behavior] in every form of activity, until he is worthy of being called ‘good and upright.’” This week and in the days, weeks and months ahead, let us all strive to be thoughtful in our actions, refine our character, and treat one another in such a way that we merit the title of good and upright. In this way we will enrich our community.

like Sefer Vayikra, The Book of Leviticus, with a census of the Israelites and an explanation of how their camp is to be laid out; where each tribe will live. It seems to be simply an enumeration of population and location. How boring. But this week’s Haftorah, from the Prophet Hosea, gives us another way to think about the Torah portion. Those who put on tefillin, the small black boxes worn during morning weekday prayers, recite the following lines from this week’s Haftorah as they wrap the leather strap around their left hand, “And I will espouse myself to you forever. I will espouse you with righteousness and justice and with goodness and mercy. And I will espouse you with faithfulness and you will know Adonai.” (Hosea 2:21-22) Putting on the tefillin is a symbol of the relationship between the individual Jew and God. This week’s Torah portion, and most of the Torah, is ultimately about relationships. A census answers the question, how many of us are there? The plan of the camp lets us know how we are to relate to one another and, through that, how we will relate to God. Putting on tefillin and saying these words from this week’s Haftorah, remind us of the qualities that all strong and lasting relationships require.

This week’s Torah portion, Kidoshim (holiness) is called The Holiness Code, because it begins with these words, “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2). These are the rules by which the Jewish people are to live: an interweaving of ritual practices, not worshipping false gods, for example – and moral rules, such as leaving some of the harvest in the field to provide sustenance for the poor. It is appropriate to read this piece of Torah on the Shabbat before Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Memorial Day). As we remember those who were murdered by the Nazis, it is important also to remember the values by which they lived and by which we too can live, to sanctify our lives, their memories and to bring greater holiness into the world.

Moses is considered the greatest of all the prophets. He is the one human being who speaks with God face to face. Yet in this week’s Torah portion Moses is plagued with insecurity. When he speaks to the Israelites, telling them that God will free them from their slavery, they do not listen to him because their spirits have been “crushed by cruel bondage.” (Exodus 6:9) Moses feels like a complete failure. But God gives him an even harder task, commanding Moses to tell Pharaoh to free the Israelites. But Moses hesitates saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, a man of impeded speech!” (Genesis 9:12) Moses sees only his physical limitations and his failures, but God sees something more. Sometimes when we have no faith in ourselves, the faith of others helps us to see who we truly are and help us fulfill our destiny.

This week Joseph advises his father to lie. He tells him, “So when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ you shall answer, ‘Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers’ — so that you may stay in the region of Goshen . For all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.” (Genesis 46:33 — 34) But Jacob does not listen to his son. When asked about his work by Pharaoh, Jacob says, “We your servants are shepherds, as were also our fathers.” (Genesis 47:3) Rather than being appalled, Pharaoh is pleased and answers, “settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them stay in the region of Goshen . And if you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” (Genesis 47:5) Jacob’s behavior teaches us that we should be proud of who we are. Others are usually impressed by authenticity. We must be ourselves, rather than pretend to be something we are not, if we are to have constructive relationships with others.

After more than 20 years of conflict, anger and estrangement, Jacob and his older brother Esau meet near the river Jabok. Jacob is afraid that Esau will kill him in anger to avenge the way Jacob deceived him and deprived him of his father’s blessing. But, when they come together, Esau runs to greet him, embraces him and weeps. (Genesis 33:4) Jacob looks at his brother and says, “To see your face is like seeing the face of God.” (Genesis 33:10) Jacob and Esau are reconciled because they see each other for the first time as human beings rather than rivals, as long-parted brothers rather than enemies. When we see each other as human, as expressions of the divine, we can accept one another, become close, and create harmony. When we see other human beings as things to be manipulated for our own selfish ends, we sow the seeds of alienation, enmity and discord.

Actions can hurt and actions can heal. This week’s Torah portion begins with Sarah’s death, “Sarah’s lifetime-the span of Sarah’s life-came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba now Hebron-in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her.” (Genesis 23:1-2) A midrash says that Sarah died when she heard that Abraham had gone to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham’s actions kill his beloved Sarah. The Torah portion ends with Abraham taking a new wife, “Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.” (Genesis 25:1) We don’t know who Keturah was, but Rashi, the great medieval Torah commentator said, “Keturah was Hagar.” Who was Hagar? She was Sarah’s handmaid who gave birth to Ishmael. Both Hagar and Ishmael were driven into the desert to die by Sarah and Abraham after the birth of Isaac. Another midrash says that Isaac brought Abraham to the well where Hagar and Ishmael lived. Isaac brings together the family that had been torn apart by jealousy so many years earlier. May we follow Isaac’s example and work to bring people together through our actions.

Our sages taught, “All beginnings are difficult.” This week’s Torah portion is all about beginnings and challenges. The Jewish story starts this week when God says to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Abram (soon to be renamed Abraham) lives comfortably in the city of Ur in Mesopotamia. According to a midrash, his father was an idol-maker. At God’s command, Abraham leaves behind his home and family, all that he knows, and all that makes his life comfortable, to embark on a journey into the unknown based solely on his faith in God’s promise that his life will be made better and that he will make a positive difference in the world. At times in our lives it is that way for us as well. We may not perceive it as God’s command, but we may feel called to make an important but scary and risky change in our lives. That change may be essential, but we are frightened to move away from what makes our lives comfortable. It is only with faith in a better life that we can take that risk and move forward, as Abraham did so long ago and began the saga of Jewish history.

This week’s Torah portion includes the famous story of the flood, Noah’s ark, and the animals he saves. In Chapter 8 we read, “At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark he had made and sent out the raven…” to find dry land (Genesis 8:6-7). We know from the beginning of the parasha that God commanded Noah to make an opening in the ark to let in natural light. It was not clear that Noah had made a window, but after being locked up for 40 days and nights Noah finally opens up this window to re-establish his connection to the world. There is a halacha (a religious ruling) that every synagogue must have windows. There are two reasons that connect with this week’s Torah portion. First of all, synagogues must have a source of natural light, just like the ark. Second, windows enable us to remain connected to the world, just as Noah’s window did. Jewish houses of worship are not meant to seal us away from the world but rather to connect us with it, so we can take our prayer and study out into the world to make it better.

This week’s Torah portion is the final one we read before the High Holy Days and the opening line seems completely fitting, “You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God — your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water-drawer —to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, … I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day.” Moses is reminding the Israelites of their moment of direct contact with God at Sinai. What better way to frame Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which are the most intimate of all the Jewish holy days. According to our tradition, they are the times when each of us, as individuals, renews our connection to the Holy and the Sacred. As we enter the synagogue next week, this parsha reminds that each of us has our moment of standing at Sinai, our moment of sacred connection when we renew our bonds with the Spirit that animates the Universe. And the other purpose of the High Holy Days, teshuvah, or the return to the right path, is perfectly described just a few verses later, “See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity.” (Deuteronomy 29:15). Each of us has the opportunity to make a choice and to renew our connection of the best in us and to work to bring out the best in others and the world around us. Shannah Tovah u’metukah – May you have a good and sweet New Year.