Devorah Landau's Page

In this week’s Torah portion, named for Moshe’s (Moses’) father-in-law, Yitro (Jethro), “Yitro took Tziporah, Moshe’s wife, after she had been sent away…Moshe’s father-in-law,, Yitro, and his [Moshe’s] sons and his wife came to Moshe, to the desert where he was encamped, to the mountain of G-d.”

Moshe first meets his future wife, Tziporah, in parashat Shemot. Moshe flees from Egypt to Midian and sits near a well where Tziporah and her six sisters are harassed by a…

This week’s Haftorah contains the Song of Devorah. The Haftorah, found in Shoftim/Judges 4-5), corresponds to the weekly Torah portion in which the sea splits, the enemies drown, and Moshe (Moses) and Miriam sing in gratitude to G-d for the miraculous salvation of the Jewish People. The Song of Devorah similarly celebrates the miraculous victory of a small army of Israelites over a huge force of Canaanites.

Devorah is a judge and prophetess. “She would sit under the date…

The New Year represents a time for change. We are not condemned to repeat the same patterns of behavior of past years; we are urged to examine our past, learn from it and make changes that can improve our future and that of our children.  Nor are we destined to be the same kind of parents as our own parents if we choose not to be.  Just as our parents made decisions based on the circumstances and the times in which they lived, so must we carefully consider the changes dictated by current…

As parents, we must show our children that we serve G-d with joy. If we show we are happy to help others and to perform mitzvot, our children will grow up knowing that avodat Hashem, doing what G-d asks us to do, is the formula for true and lasting happiness. Our children need to see that we have a relationship with G-d, and that we perform mitzvot because we love, and are grateful, to G-d.

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This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins with the…