For those of us who grew up in the Jewish community, the High Holy Days are synonymous with long ritual services at the local synagogue and large meals with friends a family. But really, the days in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are arguably more important than the services themselves. Judaism, as I often try to convey, doesn't happen in the sanctuaries of our temples or the libraries of our scholars. None of the lessons of the Torah mean anything if we do not actively incorporate them into our lives.

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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Nitzavim-Vayelech, Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30.

This week's parsha is fairly brief. All in all, it feels like a sort of narrative capstone for the previous few parshiot, a kind of philosophical breather. On one level it is a review of basic themes and a sort of stepping-back perspective moment. The terms are broad and general, referencing elements of older passages, specifically the blessings and curses as well as some of the fallen cities from biblical history.

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Jews have long been associated with the practice of law. This only stands to reason considering Judaism's preoccupation with the details of its own religious law. Thousands of years ago, scholars of the Torah began to approach scripture from a decidedly judicial angle, using reference-supported commentaries and a foundation of precedent to elaborate on the vague elements of the written law. At its best, Jewish legal theory has been integral to the process of social justice in a variety of cultures, not the least of which is the United States where the Jewish people have cultivated a reputation as formidable lawyers. One of the greatest contributors to US law and the adjudication of civil rights is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8.

Ki Tavo is one of the most well-known parshiot in the rabbinic tradition and certainly one of the most oft-quoted. This is the parsha of Blessings and Curses, a great litany of the ills that will befall those who do wrong and the benefits following those who keep the mitzvot. I have personally heard those passages read and interpreted by several rabbis, yet I've never heard one reading that I feel captures the true essence of what this parsha is trying to say, or for that matter how it goes about saying it.

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Judaism is a religion of scholars and has been since the beginning. Many great thinkers occupy positions of the utmost honor and respect today, but once in a while certain sages attain a sort of super-stardom in Judaic philosophy. Perhaps no scholar in Jewish history is more well-known and popular than a quasi-mythic figure named Hillel.

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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Ki Teitzei, Deuteronomy 20:10-25:19.

There is a seemingly unassuming passage at the end of Ki Teitzei that forbids the use of "diverse weights", which is to say tools with which to cheat people in business. Whether in measuring grain, grapes or gold, everything must be honest and fair. That's what this entire parsha is really about. It is concerned with what the culture at that time viewed as justice and propriety.

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While there have been plenty of Jewish pop musicians in American history, from the jazz age to the world of heavy metal in the 70's and 80s as well as the diverse grounds of hip hop, few, if any, of them have actively pursued music with overtly Jewish themes. This only follows the non-proselytizing stance of Judaism and there's also the question of whether or not there's enough of a market to support pop artists who make religious Jewish music. Compared to the multi-million dollar industry of Christian pop, which is intended as an alternative to morally questionable secular pop, Jewish music is a tiny niche market. That's what makes the mainstream success of Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu so inexplicable. His work has gone far beyond the novelty that first garnered it attention while still introducing listeners to Jewish spirituality in a very inviting way.

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Many people have heard the term "Messianic Judaism" and are unaware of exactly what it is. Further adding to the confusion, someone who has little knowledge of mainstream Judaism may interact with individuals or writings in the Messianic faith and have little means of distinguishing it from what most Jews consider the central tenets of Judaism. It is important to understand that Messianic principles are not traditional Jewish principles. This is not to say they are bad, only that they differ much more significantly than the name suggests.

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Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Shoftim, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9.

There is something of a problem with large-scale social order based on religious mysticism. Namely, that any literate person who can put on a good act is capable of pretending to have divine knowledge. This issue is the basis of a significant portion of the written laws of ancient civilizations. A particularly well-known case is that of the Babylonian king Hammurabi. In approximately 1790 BCE, King Hammurabi told his people that the gods had come to him the night before and told him the law. This is hardly the earliest case of codified law in the ancient world, but it stands out by its explicit claim of divine ordination. This is all well and good for just, fair laws, but it's easy to see how dubious claims of godly inspiration can result in tyranny.

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In a memorably funny scene from the 1980 Jim Abraham/Zucker Brothers comedy Airplane! a passenger asks for some light reading material and is handed a thin pamphlet entitled "Great Jewish Athletes". While it's true that Jews don't have as much of a presence in sports as we do in entertainment or academia, there are a few notable names on one field or another. The first one to be mentioned is often baseball legend Sandy Koufax.

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