The first midrash on Parah in Bamidbar Rabbah quotes a pasuk from Tehillim chapter 12 which states, "Amaros Hashem imros tehoros".  The words of G-d are words of purity.  The midrash explains in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that this means Hashem does not use improper speech in the Torah.  For example, in Noach, the Torah says that ritually pure animals were gathered into the ark and the animals that were not ritually pure.  Instead the Torah could have written the animals that were tamei, but didn't.  This avoidance of the explicit use of words that denote impurity applies, however, only to animals, not to humans.  In Parah, for example, the Torah does not speak in a circmspect way when people become ritually impure.  V'tamei shiv'at yamim, V'tamei ad ha'erev.  Quite directly, the Torah states the conditions when human beings become ritually impure.  Why is there a difference?

In a 2002 New York Times best-seller called Salt- A World History, the author Mark Kurlansky informs us that salt is more than the simple food additive that appears on our tables.  He documents that wars have been fought over it; it has been used as currency; governements have been formed and have fallen because of it; and it has been one of the most valuable and sought-after commodities the world has ever seen.  The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Celts were some of the peoples of history who developed methods to produce salt and to bring it to market.  Today, salt is one of the newer gourmet products available.  You can get Himalayan Pink Salt, Grey Sea Salt from France, and Hawaiian Red Salt.  The color, characteristics, shape, and flavor depend on the area in which it is harvested.  Kosher salt is one of the most popular of the gourmet salts on the market due to its coarseness and texture.  What does salt have to do with Vayikra?

Moshe gathers Bnei Yisrael to instruct them on the building of the Mishkan.  In between, he reminds them of the laws of Shabbat.  Rashi comments in his well-known explanation based on the gemara that Shabbos is not docheh (pushed aside) for the building of the Mishkan.  I love the classical philosophical development of this idea that kedushas hazman takes precedence over kedushas hamakom, holiness of time over holiness of space.  However I can't help but think there is more going on.

(This address was more of a presentation than a traditional d'var torah, given the material I was seeking to impart.  It turned out to be incredibly well-received.  One of my congregants actually said, "I failed to fall asleep!")

In the year 2000, according to Dan Oren in his book, "Joining the Club:  A History of Jews and Yale", (2001), Ann Prouty and Martha Muriro presented Yale University with the 1749 Master's Diploma of their great- great- great-grandfather, Ezra Stiles, the future president of the school.  I do not know whether his scholary endeavors are still of interest, but his diploma is of historical significance:  It displays the oldest surviving and legible Yale insignia, the famous "Urim V'tumim" spelled in Hebrew.  As an outsider, I always felt proud that an institution as prestigious as Yale would use a phrase from the Tanach as its seal, especally one as profoundly meaningful as one of the items worn by the Kohen Gadol in the Beis Hamikdash and used to communicate with G-d.  Today, then, as we read about the vestments of the Kohen Gadol, I wondered what this seal meant to the leades of Yale, an institution which many of you [in the congregation] hold dear.

Here I presented to the congregation a brilliant d'var torah from Rav Yitzchak Hutner, former Rosh Yeshiva of Chaim Berlin, culled from his sefer Pachad Yitzchak, Pesach volume, article 43.

The Hebrew servant who wishes to remain in servitude for perpetuity is taken to the doorpost and his ear is pierced.  Rashi explains based on the Midrash, the ear that heard on Mt. Sinai the the Jewish people are servants to Hashem is pierced, now that this person wants to serve another human being.  The Jews heard many things on Sinai.  Any action that goes against  Torah philosophy should require the piercing of the ear.  Why is the Eved Ivri the only person who requires ear-piercing? 

The Revelation at Sinai was beyond ordinary description.  The "special effects" recorded in the Torah including the thunder, lightning, and smoke, the reaction of the people, and simply reflecting on G-d "speaking" to us, all of these images lead us to feel that Sinai was an overwhelming experience.

The language of the Torah's description is also unfathomable.  Vayishm'u et hakolot — they saw the sounds during the revelation.  What could the Torah mean?

(This d'var torah was delivered as part of a new shul program, the "Shiur, Cholent and Kugel Kiddush")

The miracle at Yam Suf is widely regarded as the culmination of the miraculous acts by Hashem in redeeming the Jewish people from the bondage of Egypt.  Moreover, the Mishnah in Brachot 54a records that the blessing "She'asah nisim" must be recited whenever a Jew returns to the Red Sea.  Now, the basic structure is as follows:  the miracle occurs and then comes the praise and thanks to G-d.  The Netziv, a 19th century scholar from Volozhin, has a completely opposite understanding.

How could Hashem say such a thing?  At Shemot 6:2, G-d says to Moshe, "I am the L-ord; and I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov as  E-l-Sha-dai, but to them I have not made myself known through the name Y-H-V-H. "  We know from Breishit 12 that Avraham began his career by calling out to others in the name of Y-H-V-H!  What could G-d have meant?