Rabbi Katz pats his stiff hand on a yellowing translation of the Torah. “My boy, we read this very week, in Nitzavim, that in order for us as a people to receive the Almighty’s blessings, we must obey ...

“And he [the Kohen] shall be sanctified” [Leviticus 21:8]. I have long been fascinated by the blessing recited by the kohanim (priests) as they call upon God to bless the Jewish people: “Blessed art ...