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The Exodus and Einstein

Apr 7, 2012 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Pesah

As we gather to celebrate Passover this week, the attempts of all those who seek to prove or disprove the Children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt seem to surface anew. Applying the rigors of science to religion is no new endeavor for Judaism. In each generation鈥攁 theme these days鈥攖here are those who have attempted to reconcile Truths. How could the Torah’s version of history agree with the Truth that we know from philosophy or science?

Swallowed in the Ground

Apr 7, 2012 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Pesah

Swallowed in the ground,
Saved from forces stronger than ourselves,
Hooves over our heads.
A miracle occurred.

For Our Students

Mar 31, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol

I got valuable help this year in writing my annual Shabbat Hagadol message to teens and 20-somethings from six teens and 20-somethings who are studying at 91抖阴’s Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies.

Sacrifices Seen Through Love and Law

Mar 31, 2012 By David Levy | Commentary | Text Study | Pesah

Every year, the weeks during which the Torah portions of Leviticus are read, many Jews complain about the challenge of finding interest or meaning in such esoteric material. I, myself, also struggle to engage deeply with these texts when I forget that even our ancient Sages felt the need to bolster the relevance of these laws, which largely became defunct after the Second Temple was destroyed.

How Now, Brown Cow?

Mar 17, 2012 By Leonard A. Sharzer | Commentary | Pekudei | Shabbat Parah | Vayak-hel

I would like to review several components of the Red Heifer ritual that I find most challenging and ask two questions: (1) Is there any way to understand this arcane ritual that has resonance in modern times?; and (2) Why do we read this passage shortly before Pesah?

Consumption with Humility

Mar 17, 2012 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Text Study | Pekudei | Vayak-hel

“You are what you eat,” as the old adage goes鈥攂ut according to this midrash, you are also what you build, or more precisely, you are how you build.

Living with the Divine Spirit

Mar 10, 2012 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Ki Tissa

How to blame the Israelites for the Golden Calf episode, when it seems that all they want to do is create something holy?

The Voice From the Burning Bush

Mar 10, 2012 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Ki Tissa

Moses heard God’s voice as his own; each of us hears God’s voice as our own, hearing what we need to hear from the thunderous words of revelation that are each of ours and yet so difficult to discern.

A Threefold Method of Biblical Interpretation

Mar 3, 2012 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Shabbat Zakhor | Tetzavveh

Why are these two seemingly unrelated matters鈥攖he law against harboring dishonest weights, on the one hand, and the exhortation to “remember” Amalek’s treachery, on the other鈥攋uxtaposed?

Remembering to Forget

Mar 3, 2012 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Shabbat Zakhor

How does one recall something that we are ultimately supposed to forget? That is one of the great paradoxes found in the Torah reading for Shabbat Zakhor and later reflected in a rabbinic tradition that stems from the midrash above.

Bringing God into Our Classrooms and Communities

Feb 25, 2012 By Jonathan Lipnick | Commentary | Terumah

Although this week’s parashah focuses mostly on architectural plans, there is significant, inspiring Torah about community building and even classroom dynamics.

Of Willing Heart

Feb 25, 2012 By David Levy | Commentary | Text Study | Terumah

God seems not to be seeking out the work alone, but more the voluntary offering. I find this to be incredibly encouraging.

Standing with Moses on the Mountaintop

Feb 18, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Mishpatim | Shabbat Shekalim

Readers of Mishpatim cannot fail to be struck by the contrast between the main body of the parashah and its conclusion. The former consists for the most part of rather dry case law, covering such things as goring oxen, robbery by day and by night, and release from indentured servitude. The end of the parashah could not be more different in subject and tone.

Debtors to God

Feb 18, 2012 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Text Study | Mishpatim

This week’s midrash provides a striking metaphor for the nature of our existence in the world. Like the destitute person who has given his only garment as collateral on a loan, we are often destitute in our moral stature. We make mistakes, error, and sin. According to the midrash, every evening God takes our souls as we sleep as collateral for the spiritual debts we owe. And every morning, in spite of our failings, our souls are returned to us.

The Whimsy, Confusion, and Hope of Purim

Feb 11, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Purim

Purim is probably the most confusing of all Jewish holidays.

Torah and the Supreme Court

Feb 11, 2012 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Yitro

These are all the essential ingredients for the recipe of how we interpret the Torah at 91抖阴鈥攍anguage, history, tradition, precedent, purpose, and consequence. It is these very same principles that define our vision for study, law, and practice.

The Resiliency and Faith of Youth

Feb 11, 2012 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Yitro

Why do bad things happen to good people?

“One Good Thing about Music…”

Feb 4, 2012 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Beshallah

One good thing about music: when it hits you, you feel no pain.” So opens Bob Marley’s reggae anthem “.” This lyric cuts to the heart of music’s awesome power to transform one’s state of being. Music can touch something deep inside of us, can make us feel. Melodies express complex, even contradictory, emotions and ideas; they can soothe pain with joy, while adding feelings of loss or nostalgia. This emotive power of music stands at the center of this week’s Torah portion, Beshallah.

Moving Forward

Feb 4, 2012 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Beshallah

What a wonderful feature of being human, that we are so different that even our shared experiences produce in us such a wide range of possible emotions. Despair, regret, aggression, complaint鈥攖he midrash imagines that different people, standing at the shore of the Sea of Reeds with Pharoah’s army closing in from behind, felt each in different measure.

Redemption Through Law

Jan 28, 2012 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Bo

In the midst of the tumult of the Exodus鈥攚hile the plagues are still falling like locusts upon Egypt; after the deep darkness that plunged the land back into primal chaos; as the Israelite slaves desperately and, it must be admitted, somewhat gleefully despoil their former masters just after the ominous warning has been issued of the impending death of Egypt’s firstborn鈥攖he Torah pauses in its breathless narrative as if for a commercial break, a word from our Sponsor.

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