Our guest this week is Rabbi Ilan Glazer of the Beth Sholom Synagogue in Memphis, Tennessee. Rabbi Glazer was ordained in 2012 by ALEPH: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal. He has a B.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the City College of New York. He also studied at Pardes and with Nava Tehila in Jerusalem. Rabbi Ilan was a Rabbis Without Borders fellow with CLAL: the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He completed trainings in the art of Sacred Hebrew Chant with Rabbi Shefa Gold, in ritual theatre with Storahtelling, and was ordained as a Maggid, a Jewish inspirational storyteller, by Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum. Prior to coming to Beth Sholom, Rabbi Glazer was the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El of North Bergen, NJ.
This week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16:1-18:30) – describes the Tabernacle ceremony of the Day of Atonement, establishes general rules for sacrifice and sanctuary, and lays down specific laws about sexual relationships. Our discussion focuses on the curious practice of sending a goat to ‘Azazel’ on Yom Kippur as part of the process of atonement.
Previous Torah Talks about Achrei-Mot and Kedoshim:
Rabbi Rick Jacobs – discussing the meaning of being holy.
Rabbi Laurence Bazer – discussing the relation between Yom Kippur and the celebration of Passover.
