In his Dvar Torah for Parshat Korah (June 25, 2023), TBE member Josh Jeffreys observes that questions about leadership are rarely just about the leaders and suggests that Korah’s rebellion is actually about suffering. In response to our own suffering, will we choose bitterness or compassion?
In her Dvar Torah for Parashat Shlah-Lekha (June 17, 2023), TBE member LeAnne Whitlow argues that perspective is everything.
In her Dvar Torah for Parashat Beha’alotekha (June 10, 2023), TBE member Alane Cameron Ford discusses how the preparations for life beyond the wilderness can guide us in the work of building community today.
In his Shabbat message for Parashat Naso (June 3, 2023), Rabbi Knopf argues that, from the Torah's perspective, laws that target transgender and nonbinary people are crimes against humanity. Pride Month was originally established as a movement to protest bigotry against LGBTQIA+ people. The need to continue protesting and fighting for equality continues.
Description: On the festival of Shavuot, we read the Ten Commandments. The first of those commandments is a little baffling, considering it doesn’t appear to command anything at all. Drawing from the haftarah portion for the 1st day of Shavuot (May 26, 2023), Rabbi Knopf explains that the 1st commandment is actually the essence of what was commanded at Sinai, and continues to call upon us today.
In his Dvar Torah for parashat Bamidbar (May 20, 2024), TBE member Brandon Methey explains that Jewish people have often had a fraught relationship with the countries we live in, and asks what can the Torah teach us about how to interact with where we live and our own community?
In his Dvar Torah for parashat Bamidbar (May 20, 2024), TBE member Brandon Methey explains that Jewish people have often had a fraught relationship with the countries we live in, and asks what can the Torah teach us about how to interact with where we live and our own community?
Description: After a startling experience, TBE member Emily Jasper reflects in this Dvar Torah on how Parashat Emor (May 6, 2023) describes the laws for purity required of the priests. But instead of clean or unclean, she discusses the liminal space of being vulnerable, as shared by the Gamliel Institute’s Nina Rubin.
In his Dvar Torah for Parashat Tazria-Metzora/Rosh Hodesh Iyar (April 22, 2023), TBE member Laurance Wieder explains that Leviticus says nothing about actual pregnancy, while Solomon declares “there is no new thing under the sun.” But Isaiah sings of birth without labor, of new heavens and new earth, and proclaims the new moon.
Parashat Terumah focuses on the construction of the elaborate Tabernacle so that ‘G-d can dwell among them.’ But why does G-d require a physical, earthly dwelling at all? TBE member Brandon Mittman discusses the essential purpose of earthly creation.
In his Passover message for this year, Rabbi Knopf explains how the customary conclusion of the Seder, "Next Year in the Built Jerusalem!” is actually a commandment, calling upon us to make heaven on earth.
In her Dvar Torah for the 2nd day of Passover (April 7, 2023), TBE member Alane Ford explains that the biblical book of Leviticus can be a toolbox or instruction manual for drawing meaning from ancient stories of freedom.
In his Dvar Torah for the 1st day of Passover (April 6, 2023), TBE Executive Director Damien Timms looks at the events of the 10th plague from the point of view of the moral quandary God was placed in.
In his Shabbat message for Parashat Ki Tissa (March 11, 2023), Rabbi Knopf celebrates the completion of Temple Beth-El’s sanctuary renovation with a call to honor its purpose through perpetual participation.
In her Dvar Torah for Parshat Zachor (March 4, 2023), TBE member Brittany Usiak teaches us what our tradition has to say about how we remember or push away challenging experiences and the legacies and responsibilities we inherit as Jewish people.
TBE member and past-president Bob Siegel explains that Parashat Yitro (February 11, 2023) helps us understand that spirituality is not limited to quiet moments of introspective reflection; rather, it often includes concrete physical action and engagement with others. When we tirelessly work to pursue justice, we may find that it leads us to even greater moments of spiritual fulfillment.
Inspired by the Autistic Rebbetzin’s idea of Moses being Autistic, TBE member Jamie Weinstein tells the story of Parashat Beshallah (February 4, 2023) with an autistic hero through the eyes of an autistic mom. The hero here isn’t just Moses but his inner tribe who supports him, teaching us about unity and community support around disabled folks.
In his Dvar Torah for Refugee Shabbat (January 28. 2023), TBE member Sam Revenson shares how the war in Ukraine relates to the Exodus story, and what our community is doing for Ukrainians, including those we have helped resettle in Richmond. How can you help? Listen and learn!
In one of the most famous stories in the Torah, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened during the plagues and his choice is taken away. In his Dvar Torah for Parashat Va-era (January 21, 2023), TBE member Brandon Metheny explores how we can uphold the importance of free will while also accepting the lack of it in that moment.
In this Dvar Torah for Parashat Va-Yehi (January 7, 2023), TBE member Alane Ford discusses the patriarch Jacob's preparations for his own death and asks, what does it mean to face one's own death? And how can we do this well?
Inspired by Parshat Miketz, Hanukkah, and Rosh Chodesh (December 24, 2022), TBE member Josh Jeffreys shares a d’var torah on the blessing of darkness, power of dreams, and importance of (re)dedicating ourselves to spreading light amidst dark times.
The Rabbis explicitly call Joseph “righteous,” but his early life seems to be anything but. What can we learn from Joseph’s experiences and growth to find righteousness in our own lives?
Inessa Nosenko, Director of JCC "Mazel Tov" in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (Richmond's sister city), joins us in person to share stories from the ever- changing war zone in Ukraine.
In his Dvar Torah for Parashat Va-yeitzei (Saturday, December 3, 2022), TBE conversion student Stan Jett explains that the portion beings and ends with piles of stones that endorse a newfound mindfulness of the Divine. We can enshrine the stones of difficult growth with the words of our prayers and blessings.
The harder one looks for the patriarch Isaac in the Torah, the harder he is to see. In his Dvar Torah for Parashat Toldot (November 26, 2022), TBE member Larry Wieder, explains that Isaac is an invisible man, who shows himself only through the agency of others, as the means to an end.
In this Dvar Torah for Parashat Valera (November 12, 2022), in honor of our "Climate on the Bimah” Shabbat (in partnership with Virginia Interfaith Power & Light), TBE member Dr. Gary Goldberg asks, “what is the dream for what Jews can do together to address the climate crisis?”
Families are complex with many competing needs. In this Dvar Torah for Parashat Lekh-Lekha (November 5, 2022), TBE Executive Director Damien Timms examines how we can look at the goings on in Abrahams’ family and see how it eludes to our community.
In this Dvar Torah for Parshat Bereishit (Saturday, October 22, 2022), TBE member Tiffany Washington shares how we were created to be creative beings and how honoring our need and desire for creativity brings us closer to ourselves, each other, and the Infinite.
In his message for Shemini Atzeret (Monday, October 17, 2022), Rabbi Knopf explores the meaning of the Shemini Atzeret holiday, and what it teaches us about life and death.
The Torah tells us that the descendants of those who do wrong will be punished “to the third and fourth generation.” In a Dvar Torah for Shabbat hol ha-mo’ed Sukkot (October 15, 2022), TBE member Brandon Metheny asks: how do we square this seemingly unfair outcome with the season of mercy and forgiveness, and what lessons can we take from this statement?
