Michael Mantell

There isn’t a Torah parsasha that doesn’t have an exact link to what’s going on in the world during the week we read its teachings. This week we read from Vayakhel and Pekudei and, lo and behold, once again we experience an inspirational nexus with our contemporary lives and a biblical passage. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

Holy cow! Or should I say, holy cows! This week cows fill our Torah reading, from the sin of one cow, the golden calf, to – this being Shabbat Parah – another cow, the red heifer. Shabbat Parah, the Sabbath of the Red Heifer, occurs on the Shabbat prior to Shabbat Mevarkhim of the month of Nisan. This brings to mind a question. What do you get when you pamper a cow? Spoiled milk, that’s what! Ok, ok, it’s just a bad joke, I get it. But why did the secret service surround the president with dozens of cows? Of course, they were trying to beef up security. Ugh, I now, but writing this so close to Purim leaves its mark of still overflowing fun. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

This week’s parasha opens with very clear instructions on how to create and maintain the ner tamid, a light much like the chanukiyah, not to be used for any practical purpose but rather to amplify our connection to Hashem. Indeed, the Talmud Bavli in Masechet Shabbat (22b), tells us the ner tamid is a symbol of Hashem’s presence and that the flame of Torah, our deepest values, are similarly eternal. “And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for lighting, to kindle the lamps continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the dividing curtain that is in front of the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it up before the Lord…”(Exodus 27:20-21). [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

This week in parasha Terumah, (“gift,” “portion’ or “offering” depending on whether you read the Jewish Publication Society, the Stone edition or the Soncino chumash ) we learn the many specific details of the building of the Tabernacle, Hashem’s dwelling place. It says in the parasha, “And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst” וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם (Exodus 25:8). [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

In our Parasha, Mishpatim, laws, are two of more than 30 times that the Torah warns us against mistreating the sojourner, V’ger lo teelchatz “Do not oppress the stranger”(Shemot, 23:9). We learn about the value of treating others properly, equitably, impartially and what the way we treat others reveals about ourselves. These are certainly universal values that are essential to a healthy, fair, society. How do you live, not just profess, these values? [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

In this week’s parasha, Yitro, one of the six portions named for an individual, the Ten Commandments, the Aseret HaDib’rot, are revealed to Moses and to the Israelites in the wilderness. We may learn from this pinnacle experience that the Torah can be learned anywhere, even in the wilderness, by anyone with a receptive heart and open mind. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

Does your physician heal you from illness or prevent you from becoming ill in the first place? Maimonides informs us: “The greatest of all physicians is the Lord, of Whom it is said ‘I am the Lord thy physician.’ As proof of this, it is written ‘I will not place upon you the illnesses which I have placed upon ancient Egypt.’ Who is truly the good doctor? Not the person who heals the sick from their diseases, but rather the one who helps the person from becoming sick and sees to it that he maintains his health.” [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]