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Claiming Our Ancestors: The Case of Terah
Oct 31, 2014 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
For all of us, there is no going without leaving; and so it was for Abraham: 鈥淕o forth from your land, your birthplace, and the house of your father to the land that I shall show you鈥� (Gen. 12:1) [emphasis added]. And when we leave places, we leave people as well. When Abraham departed for Canaan he left behind, among others, his father Terah. And it was always thus: 鈥淭herefore shall a man leave his father and mother鈥� (2:24).
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The Eyes Have It: Looking at the Text
Oct 31, 2014 By Anne Lapidus Lerner | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
Matthias Stom鈥檚 鈥淪arah Leading Hagar to Abraham鈥� (c. 1638)鈥攂rought to my attention by Mimi Kaplan, a student at the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies of 91抖阴鈥攊s a proverbial picture worth a thousand words.
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Species Purity and the Great Flood
Oct 24, 2014 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Noah
Omnicide is a dramatic move, on that we can all agree. But what causes the Creator to grow violently disgusted with the creatures that had just recently been praised as 鈥済ood鈥� and blessed with fertility?
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And Now, You Pray?
Oct 21, 2014 By Michael R. Boino | Commentary | Noah
鈥淎nd Now, You Pray?鈥� explores both human and Divine responsibility in Parashat Noah. The piece utilizes several sources that explore voices of protest or requests for help, both those which are voiced as well as those suppressed or ignored.
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Mortals and Immortals
Oct 17, 2014 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Commentary | Bereishit
We human beings tend not to see something that doesn鈥檛 fit our preconceived notions, including when we read the Torah.
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Minding Our Words
Oct 17, 2014 By Anne Lapidus Lerner | Commentary | Bereishit
On Simhat Torah, we complete the reading of the humash鈥攁ll 79,796 Hebrew words of it鈥攁nd when we鈥檙e done, what do we do? We roll it up to the very beginning and start to read it all over again. Words, words, words. Devarim (Deuteronomy)鈥攚hich, of course, means 鈥�words鈥濃�攅nds with Moses鈥檚 death after the conclusion of his lengthy final oration; Bereishit opens with God demonstrating the power of words by creating the world with them.
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An Environmental Journey
Oct 14, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Sukkot
One of my sweetest memories as a rabbinical student at 91抖阴 relates to the holiday we welcome this week, Sukkot.
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The Difference a Day Can Make
Oct 3, 2014 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Yom Kippur
Wouldn鈥檛 it be grand to wipe the slate clean? What if there were a day in the calendar when the slate was simply wiped clean once again? No marks against you. No petty quarrels remembered, no grudges borne, no more grievances for trespasses petty or grievous. What if?
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Expelling Our Own Scapegoats
Oct 3, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Yom Kippur
This coming Shabbat culminates the period of 鈥�aseret yemei teshuvah, the 10 days of repentance, as we commemorate Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
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Teshuvah: Seeking the Hidden Face of God
Sep 26, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah
This coming Shabbat, the Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is known as Shabbat Shuvah, the 鈥淪abbath of Return.鈥�
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On This Very Day
Sep 26, 2014 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah | Yom Kippur
It鈥檚 difficult to overstate the pathos of Moshe鈥檚 last days. This man (and he is most assuredly a man, not a god, not a saint), who never wanted to be a leader鈥攁nd after his first, impulsive attempt at leading was met with contempt from those he tried to save and condemnation from Pharaoh, his adoptive father (Exod. 2:11鈥�15)鈥攃arried the burdens of prophetic leadership with fierce loyalty to both of his masters, God and the people.
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Choose Life and Torah
Sep 19, 2014 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh
The Torah wants to speak to Children of Israel in every time and place, in a way that leads them鈥攍eads us鈥攖o carry forward the project that Moses has directed. It succeeds in that effort: we too are stirred by Moses鈥檚 language, compelled by his vision, moved to undertake responsibility for his Torah. Four passages in Parashat Nitzavim seem to me especially crucial to Moses鈥檚 teaching and our response.
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The Covenant and the Land
Sep 19, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh
At the opening of Parashat Nitzavim, the Israelites stand rooted before Moses and God. A captive and diverse audience, they are recipients of a message that is both immediate and transcendent in nature.
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Reflective Learning in the Season of Teshuvah
Sep 12, 2014 By Jason Gitlin | Commentary | Ki Tavo
While the formal Hebrew title for each book of Torah is today derived from a word in its first verse, the Rabbis regularly employed a different logic: use a name that captured the book鈥檚 main theme.
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From Reflection to Appreciation
Sep 12, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tavo
Having underscored the role of memory at the conclusion of last week鈥檚 parashah (remembering the cruelty of Amalek), the Torah now accentuates the importance of appreciation in Parashat Ki Tavo.
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A Time to Grieve
Sep 5, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tetzei
As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold and war is waged against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), we turn our soul鈥檚 attention to Parashat Ki Tetzei.
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Who鈥檚 Judging?
Aug 29, 2014 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Shofetim
In the opening verses of our Torah portion, the Israelites are commanded to establish a fair, impartial, and moral judicial system upon settling the Land of Israel.
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Dependent? Yes, but on Whom?
Aug 29, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shofetim
The Cairo Genizah, a rich treasure trove of Jewish history (60,000 fragments of this repository are housed in The Library of 91抖阴) rediscovered by Solomon Schechter toward the end of the 19th century, attests to the rich Jewish life that flourished in Egypt and beyond.
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How to Practice Faith
Aug 22, 2014 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Re'eh
Watch a world-class athlete do something extraordinary, like somersault and twist through the air from a high diving platform or serve a tennis ball so fast down the line that it seems fired by a cannon.
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Lessons of Idolatry
Aug 22, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh
Parashat Re’eh looks forward to the entry of the Israelites into the Land.
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