September 2022

The Proclamation of Redemption

Parshat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)

At one point every spring, after the sun has set, we sit down together with our family and guests in order to commemorate our redemption with the Passover seder. We recall the exodus from Egypt and remember God’s great hand of deliverance. We do this by using a book called the Haggadah. It guides us through our Passover experience, telling us what to say and what to do. One of the passages we recite from the Haggadah is found in our current Torah portion:

Restoring the Lost

Parashat Ki Tetze (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)

Parashat Ki Tetze contains a plethora of laws ranging from managing the spoils of war to sexual immorality to fulfilling vows and oaths. Our focus will be on the responsibility of guarding a lost object. At the beginning of chapter 22 we read:

The Age Of The Anti-Hero

Parashat Shoftim | Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

We live in the age of the antihero. If you’re not familiar with the term, this is the protagonist of a story whose life doesn’t really have the expected qualities of a hero. Usually, their motivations are self-centered and their morality is all but absent, yet we cheer them on. Some recent examples of this are characters like Jack Sparrow, The Punisher, Deadpool, etc. Currently, the antihero is one of the most popular character archetypes in storytelling because fans identify with them.