Torah From Boca

When Jews Gather, the Sanctuary LivesTorah from Boca with Rabbi David Baum What makes a synagogue the “largest” in America? Is it the size of the building, the beauty of the architecture, or the number of people who belong to it? In this episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum explores that question through the lens of Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei and the Torah’s description of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary built by the Israelites in the wilderness. At a time when synagogues around the world are facing threats and attacks, this teaching reminds us of a deeper truth in Jewish tradition: long before we had buildings, we were already a people. The Mishkan was not only about gold, silver, and sacred design. It was about a community gathering together to create holy space. Because in Judaism, the sanctuary truly lives when Jews gather together. 📖 Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei🎙 Torah from Boca with Rabbi David Baum📍 Congregation Shaarei Kodesh – Boca Raton, Florida - www.shaareikodesh.org Subscribe to Torah from Boca for weekly reflections on Torah, Jewish life, and the questions that shape our world today.

In this episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum reflects on an unexpected source of inspiration: the Super Bowl halftime show and the cultural conversation that followed. After a personal Facebook post about growing up Jewish in Miami reached far beyond his usual audience, Rabbi Baum turned the moment into a sermon exploring Parashat Mishpatim and the Torah’s repeated command to care for the stranger. “What Does Home Sound Like? A Miami-Born Rabbi on Bad Bunny and the Torah of the Stranger” weaves together memories of a multilingual childhood, a powerful encounter with a stranger, and Jewish teachings about empathy, belonging, and American identity. This episode invites listeners to consider how music, culture, and Torah can expand our understanding of what it means to feel at home, even when the rhythm is unfamiliar.

What does it really mean to be part of the “Chosen People”? Is chosenness about privilege, identity, or responsibility? In this deeply personal and timely episode, Rabbi David Baum reflects on a powerful conversion story that raises one of Judaism’s oldest and most challenging questions. Through the lens of Parashat Yitro, the revelation at Sinai, and the courage of Queen Esther, this sermon explores the difference between being chosen and choosing covenant. Drawing on midrash, lived experience, and the realities of Jewish life after October 7, Rabbi Baum reframes chosenness not as superiority, but as sacred obligation. What does it mean to embrace Torah in a world that sometimes pressures Jews to feel small or silent? And how can a deeper sense of Jewish identity empower us to stand up for ourselves and for others? This episode invites listeners to rediscover Sinai as a living moment and to ask a timeless question: You are chosen. Now what will you do with that gift?

In this episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum explores the overlooked opening verses of Parshat Beshalach, focusing on the surprising word chamushim and a powerful midrash that only one-fifth of the Israelites left Egypt and crossed into freedom. From Joseph’s bones carried through the desert to the ancient theme of memory, Rabbi Baum turns our ears toward what isn’t always seen in the dramatic climax of the Sea splitting. This week’s teaching is grounded in contemporary events that echo the ancient Torah’s themes. Israel has just recovered the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, completing the return of every Israeli taken captive in the October 7, 2023 attacks and marking a painful but significant milestone in the ceasefire process. Stories like Gvili’s and the broader effort to bring everybody home remind us of our ongoing obligation to honor the living and the dead alike — an obligation deeply rooted in our tradition and exemplified in Moses’s promise to Joseph. Against the backdrop of Holocaust remembrance and Jewish continuity, this episode reflects on resilience, dignity, and the sacred task of never forgetting our people, their names, and their stories.

Rachel Kaplan & HaGal Sheli (My Wave) In this deeply moving episode of Torah From Boca, Rabbi David Baum is joined by Rachel Kaplan, a senior leader at HaGal Sheli – My Wave, an Israeli nonprofit using surf therapy to support youth at risk, trauma survivors, displaced families, and communities coping with PTSD — especially in the aftermath of October 7. Rachel focuses on partnerships and international outreach, helping connect HaGal Sheli’s life-changing work in Israel with Jewish communities and supporters around the world. Originally from the United States and now based in Tel Aviv, she brings together a background in international relations with a profound belief in the healing power of the ocean. Through her leadership and advocacy, HaGal Sheli has emerged as a powerful model of resilience — using the rhythm of the sea to help people regain strength, confidence, and hope when the ground beneath them no longer feels stable. 🌊 In this conversation, we explore: • Healing and trauma through embodied, relational work • What resilience looks like after October 7 • Why the ocean can become sacred space • How Jewish communities abroad can meaningfully partner in healing 🎥 Also included in this post: A powerful video from Zikim, capturing the return of Israeli hostages — moments filled with relief, sorrow, love, and collective breath. These scenes remind us that redemption is rarely simple, but it is deeply human and profoundly holy. 🔗 Videos featured: • Torah From Boca — Rachel Kaplan & HaGal Sheli: https://youtu.be/U1Zk0RFhJKw • Zikim — Hostage Returnees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNM2_kdz1lw 🙏 Support this holy work: If this conversation resonates with you and you would like to help sustain healing and resilience in Israel, please consider supporting HaGal Sheli – My Wave: 👉 Donate here: https://donate.stripe.com/eVabLa8Ac5EN5fa144

In this episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum reflects on Parashat Va’eira through the lens of the moment we’re living in — a time when it can feel like one battle follows another. Beginning with a headline that hits uncomfortably close to home, Rabbi Baum explores recent acts of antisemitism alongside the Torah’s account of the plagues of Egypt. Why does Pharaoh grow more hardened with each blow? And what does Rashi teach us about the difference between becoming “battle-hardened” and losing our moral freedom? Drawing on Pirkei Avot and a deeply personal story of mitzvah and memory, this episode asks a powerful question: when darkness multiplies, how do we ensure that goodness does too? A thoughtful and timely reflection on resilience, responsibility, and the quiet power of choosing action over despair — one mitzvah at a time. https://youtu.be/E4Lo5kYf57A

💀 What Zombie shows reveals about compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and how Torah teaches us to remember. #Shoftim #parashahoftheweek What does #thewalkingdead teach us about compassion in a world that grows numb? Think of Sheriff Rick Grimes. In the first episode, he honors the fallen stranger ("we will always remember him") before his empathy fades. Likewise, our hearts risk hardening in the face of relentless tragedy. This sermon explores how constant exposure to mass shootings and global horrors leads to compassion fatigue—as described in NPR’s  “Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” and psychic numbing, which was unpacked by the APA in their article “COVID-19 & Psychic Numbing.” Together, they demonstrate how numbers can often overshadow human stories. Torah offers a different way forward. Through Ramban’s vision of “circumcising the heart,” the haunting ritual of the Eglah Arufah, Seforno’s call to spare the trees, and Ibn Ezra’s demand for a culture that cherishes life, Judaism insists that every individual soul matters—even amid war. This week, we speak the names of Harper Lillian Moyski (10) and Fletcher Merkel (8)—two children whose lives cannot be reduced to statistics. In Elul, may we resist numbness, remember the names, and soften our hearts—so compassion remains our sacred response. 📖 Texts: Deuteronomy 21 (Eglah Arufah), Ramban, Seforno, Ibn Ezra, Mishnah Sanhedrin Articles 📰: Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s... Paul Slovic observes the ‘psychic numbing’ of COVID-19 - https://www.apa.org/members/content/c... 🕯️ Remembering: Harper Lillian Moyski (10) & Fletcher Merkel (8) ➡️ Watch to discover how Torah challenges us to resist numbness, remember names, and soften our hearts in a world that too often forgets. https://youtu.be/ES6VfgI4FGk?si=xwBOmw6JgxtkjLJ3 ----more----

Jim Morrison once sang, “When you’re strange, no one remembers your name.” This week in Parashat Eikev, I reflect on how the Torah commands us to do the opposite: to remember and to love the stranger, because we ourselves were strangers in Egypt. I share why this mitzvah is the most repeated in the Torah, how it speaks to today’s epidemic of loneliness, and what it means to build a Jewish community where no one is left unseen or forgotten. Click here for the YouTube version

This week, Torah, holiday, and my own life all aligned. Parashat Va’etchanan commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, and might. The Jewish calendar gave us Tu B’Av, our festival of love, and on top of that, it’s our 19th wedding anniversary. In this episode, I revisit my original “Love Is a Verb” sermon from years ago, adding new insights from Jewish tradition, Steven Covey, Rabbi Shai Held, and the changes I’ve seen in relationships today, including the so-called Gen Z “Sex Depression” courtesy of Dr. Jean Twenge's research in her book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future.  We’ll talk about how real love, whether for a spouse, a friend, a community, or God, isn’t just a feeling you wait to happen — it’s something you practice every single day through giving, serving, forgiving, and showing up.

“Silence is complicity” is a phrase I’ve heard a lot lately — especially when it comes to Israel, Gaza, and our own Jewish community. But what if the real danger isn’t silence, but how we speak? This week we open a new book of Torah, Deuteronomy, or Devarim. In the very first words of the book, Moshe offers a model: he delivers hard truths, but he does it in a way that protects dignity and keeps the community together. In this episode, I talk about the mitzvah of tochecha/rebuke and what it means to criticize with both courage and compassion. We’ll wrestle with the tension between universal and particular values, the dangers of public shaming, and why love must come before judgment. This is about learning to speak so that even when we disagree, we stay family.