Month: April 2025

Shemini (שְׁמִינִי – Eighth)
^{Leviticus 9:1 – 11:46 and 2 Samuel 6:1-19}

The parashah Shemini⁽¹⁾ deals with the inauguration of the Tabernacle, while the haftarah recounts the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem—two stories interweaving intense joy and tragedy⁽²⁾.

Leviticus 10:16
ואת שעיר החטאת דרש דרש משה
And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering…

In the Torah, the word דרש (darash, meaning “to seek” or “to study”) is at the center⁽³⁾. This teaches us that study should hold a central and foundational place in our lives. This word appears in the central verse, which Rashi⁽⁴⁾ interprets as the necessity of balancing the observance of divine commandments with human realities. It was in Troyes that Rashi wrote his commentaries after studying in Mainz and then in Worms.

Worms, nicknamed the “Little Jerusalem of the Rhine Valley”, is a major historical center of European Judaism. The Jewish community there has been documented since the early Middle Ages. The Jewish quarter of Worms, reconstructed in 1961, is home to a Romanesque-Gothic synagogue founded in 1034, the Rashi House which became a museum in 1982, a mikveh (ritual bath) dating from the 12^th century, and the Heilige Sand⁽⁵⁾.

⁽¹⁾ Shemini: The number eight represents transcendence beyond the natural and cyclical—an elevation toward the infinite.
⁽²⁾ In the parashah, the joy of the Tabernacle’s inauguration is overshadowed by the death of Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s sons. In the haftarah, the transfer of the Ark to Jerusalem is marked by the death of Uzzah, one of Abinadab’s sons.
⁽³⁾ Shemini contains: the central verse of the Torah (the 2,923rd), the central word דרש (the 39,924th), linked to seeking and study (from the root ד-ר-ש come the words: דרש darash – “he studied”, מדרש midrash – “interpretation” or “exegesis”, דורש doresh – “seeker”, דרשה derasha – “sermon”, דרישות drishot – “requirements”). The central letter is the ו (vav) in the word גחון (gachon – “belly”, Leviticus 11:42), a letter whose shape symbolizes connection between the lower and the higher, the material and the spiritual, or the human and the divine.
⁽⁴⁾ Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak (רש״י – Rashi) was born in 1040 in Troyes. At age 15, he studied in Mainz under Rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar. After the latter’s death in 1064, he continued his studies in Worms under Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi HaQadosh. At age 30, in 1070, he returned to Troyes, where he founded a school, married, worked in his vineyard, and wrote his famous commentaries. He died in Troyes in 1105.
⁽⁵⁾ Heilige Sand is the German name for the oldest preserved Jewish cemetery in Europe. It literally means “holy sand.” Over 2,000 graves are recorded there, including that of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (1215–1293), known as the Maharam, a major figure in medieval Ashkenazi Judaism. Maharam is an acronym for Morenu HaRav Rabbi Meir (מוהר״ם), meaning “Our teacher, Rabbi Meir”.

7th Day of Passover
^{Exodus 13:17–15:26, Numbers 28:19–25, II Samuel 22:1–51}

In the Torah, the Song of the Sea, sung by Moses, is followed by the song of Miriam and the women. The Haftarah, on the other hand, exalts God by glorifying His power and acts of salvation.

Exodus 15:3
ה’ אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה ה’ שְׁמו
The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name!

In the following verse, the Lord destroys the Egyptian chariots.
The Armored Corps Museum (יד לשריון – Yad La-Shiryon) displays life-size reconstructions of ancient chariots used by Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian civilizations. The museum also offers an impressive collection of more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles from Israel and other countries, some of which were captured from enemy forces⁽¹⁾ by Israel.

The main building, a Tegart fortress⁽²⁾ with exterior walls deeply marked by impacts, houses a library that preserves information on every Israeli soldier from the Armored Corps who fell in battle. The Tzror Ha-Haïm Synagogue⁽³⁾ adds a spiritual dimension to this place of remembrance. The fortress tower has been transformed into the Tower of Tears⁽⁴⁾. The museum also features a large amphitheater and an auditorium.

Outside, the Wall of Names, engraved with the names of soldiers from the Armored Corps killed in action, pays homage to their memory. A water tower, where a Sherman tank has been installed in place of the reservoir, has become the museum’s logo.

⁽¹⁾ Tanks captured or destroyed by Israel:
– Egypt: War of Independence (1948–1949): 30–50 tanks; Six-Day War (1967): about 700 tanks; Yom Kippur War (1973): about 1,100 tanks.
– Syria: (1967): 100–150 units; (1973): nearly 1,000 tanks, mostly on the Golan Heights; Lebanon Conflict (1982): about 300 tanks.
– Jordan: (1967): about 200 units.
⁽²⁾ Tegart Fortress: Named after British police officer Charles Augustus Tegart, who designed them. These fortresses, built in the 1930s–1940s during the British Mandate, were intended to reinforce security against Arab uprisings.
⁽³⁾ Tzror Ha-Haïm (צרור החיים): This expression (meaning “Bundle of Life” or “Fountain of Life”) comes from I Samuel 25:29. It conveys the idea that the souls of the departed are bound to eternal life. The 18^th-century Holy Ark in the synagogue was donated by the Jewish community of Pisa.
⁽⁴⁾ Tower of Tears: An installation composed of steel plates recovered from a tank covering all the walls, where water flows to symbolize the tears shed for fallen Armored Corps soldiers. This work was designed by Danny Karavan (1930–2021), an Israeli sculptor renowned for his environmental sculptures that invite visitors to interact with the space. Among his iconic creations are the Path of Human Rights in Nuremberg and the Way of Peace in Israel.

Tzav (צו – prescribe), Shabbat Ha-Gadol, Passover
^{Leviticus 6:1 to 8:36, Malachi 3:4 to 3:24, Exodus 12:21 to 12:51. Numbers 28:16 to 28:25, Joshua 5:2 to 6:1}

Preparation for Deliverance:
In Tzav, the laws regarding sacrifices are prescribed. The text also describes the consecration of priests and their garments. The prophet Malachi announces the return of Elijah before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord“. He calls the people⁽¹⁾ to repentance and justice. The Torah reading of the first day of Passover recounts the final preparations before the Exodus from Egypt; the maftir details the specific sacrifices for Passover, and the haftarah speaks of those offered during the entrance to the Promised Land.

Exodus 12:42
לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיי, לְהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם: הוּא-הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה לַיי, שִׁמֻּרִים לְכָל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְדֹרֹתָם.
It was a night of watchfulness for the Lord to bring them out of the land of Egypt; it is the night that the children of Israel must observe for the Lord throughout their generations.

The Golden Haggadah is an illuminated Hebrew manuscript, probably of Catalan origin, created between 1320 and 1330 on parchment. It is adorned with fourteen miniatures, each consisting of four scenes set against a golden background, in a high-Gothic style. The text is written in square Sephardic calligraphy. This manuscript may have been taken to Italy by Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. The 17^th-century Italian binding, in dark brown sheepskin, is decorated with fan-shaped motifs. It is preserved in the British Library under reference MS 27210.

⁽¹⁾ The Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 1:11) suggests that the name Malachi (מַלְאָכִי – Malakhi, meaning “My messenger”) could be a pseudonym, indicating a universal mission. Furthermore, commentators like Rashi and Ibn Ezra highlight in their commentary on Malachi that “the name of God will be great among the nations“, reflecting a vision in which Malachi’s prophetic message encompasses all nations.

Vayiqra (ויקרא – And He called)
^{Leviticus 1:1–5:26 and Isaiah 43:21–44:23}

The parashah of Vayiqra details the sacrificial laws, intended to purify oneself and thus draw closer to The Lord⁽¹⁾. In the haftara, the prophet Isaiah reveals that Israel must purify itself to bear witness to the divine presence among the nations and actively prepare for redemption.

Leviticus 4:32 ⁽²⁾
וְאִם-כֶּבֶשׂ יָבִיא קָרְבָּנוֹ
If it is a sheep he brings as his sin offering …

The sheep, mentioned here as a sin offering, approaching Pesach, invites introspection, reminding us of the importance of purifying ourselves from the hametz within us.

Mouton (sheep) street Synagogue: Historical records reveal that a Jewish community existed as early as 1321 in the city then called Vitry-sur-Marne. After 1870, an influx of Alsatian and Lorraine Jews settled in the region. The synagogue, located on Rue Mouton, was inaugurated in 1957, just days before Rosh Hashanah. It replaced the 1885 synagogue, destroyed during World War II. Today, the Jewish community has left the city. Since 2007, the synagogue has been converted into a cultural space.

⁽¹⁾ Korban (קרבן) means “sacrifice” and derives from the Hebrew root karav (קרב), meaning “to come closer.”
⁽²⁾ Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weiser (1809–1879), known by his acronym Malbim (מלבי”ם), distinguishes between the two terms kesev (כֶּשֶׂב) in Leviticus 3:7, referring to a lamb still dependent on its mother, and keves (כֶּ֫בֶשׂ) in Leviticus 4:32, referring to a more autonomous sheep. The faithful are called to evolve toward maturity in their relationship with G.od, mirroring the transition from a dependent lamb to an autonomous sheep.