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Rabbi Linda's Weekly Message |
March 28, 2025 |
Dear Friends,
This week I share words of Torah from my friend, neighbor and colleague, Cantor Robin Anne Joseph.
Both Sides Now
A D’var Torah for Parashat Pekudei
By Cantor Robin Anne Joseph
Let’s look at clouds. From all sides now. Shall we?
Clouds are—what? The presence of God? A cover for God? A signal from God? In Parashat Pekudei, they are D) All of the above. And then some.
One cloud in particular makes a brief, but spectacular, cameo appearance as the curtain comes down on the second “act” (Book) of the Five Books of Moses. Not just any cloud, not just a cloud, but The Cloud (הֶעָנָ֖ן). As much a supporting actor in the Torah as anyone (or anything) else, I’m continually surprised not to see the word “cloud” capitalized in the English translation whenever the article "the" precedes it.
This is not the first time that The Cloud has made an appearance in the Torah. As early as in the Book of Genesis, when God makes a covenant, a Brit, with Noah to never again destroy the earth by flood, God sets God’s “bow in the cloud.” [Gen. 9:13]
And it will not be the last. One example is later in the Book of Numbers, The Cloud will withdraw from Miriam and Aaron’s confrontation with Moses and leave Miriam stricken with white scales. [Num. 12:10] The list of Cloud sightings goes on. “The Cloud” appears close to one hundred times in the Torah; it is no “bit part.”
Mitzvah of the Week
This week is Tu B’Shevat – the birthday of the trees.
There is never a wrong time to get involved in environmental causes, but it is always the right time to be reminded why it matters. Although the trees are not in bloom, much is happening inside of them and we wait for them to bloom, I invite us all to bring a plant into our homes to nurture and care for and if our home is filled with plants, give one to a friend or neighbor. Caring for other forms of life refreshes our own humanity.
| Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu ve'al kol Israel, ve'imru, Amen. |
| May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us all and all the people of Israel. |
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