Judah Leads

Dec 4, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayiggash

This week鈥檚 parashah, Vayiggash, showcases the most dramatic moment of the Joseph narrative.

What Did Joseph Mean to Say?

Dec 3, 2013 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Vayiggash

Joseph, viceroy of Egypt, who has not yet revealed himself to his brothers, threatens to retain his brother Benjamin as a slave (Gen. 44:17).

惭颈办别迟锄鈥擧补苍耻办办补丑鈥擳丑补苍办蝉驳颈惫颈苍驳

Nov 27, 2013 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the original Thanksgiving. While it is true that our ancestors did not eat turkey (a North American bird), they certainly were cooking with oil.

First Word: 鈥淭hanks鈥擬odeh鈥�

Nov 27, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

I recall learning Hebrew at the breakfast table from my polyglot father, who spoke 10 languages, saying 鈥渢辞诲补丑鈥� (thanks) or 鈥渢odah rabbah鈥� (thank you very much) as occasion demanded鈥攚hich in England it did a lot. The formality of prayerful English kept hidden from me the extent to which giving thanks (thanksgiving) fills our liturgy, literally from the very first word.

The Wisdom of Joseph: Saving Self and Country

Nov 27, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz

Parashat Miketz opens with Pharaoh plagued by two disturbing dreams pregnant with meaning.

Israel’s Safety, Israel’s Soul: Hopes and Fears in Contemporary Israel

Nov 21, 2013 By 91抖阴 | Public Event video

Yossi Klein Halevi and David Senesh have two very different views on Israeli society. Should Israeli society be more concerned about the price of being too weak or too strong? What are the responsibilities of a country under existential threat in terms of both morality and security? These questions are discussed in this provocative, illuminating, and critically important discussion moderated by Rabbi Julia Andelman.

Power of Redemption

Nov 20, 2013 By Mitchell Cohen | Commentary | Vayeshev

The theme of oppression and redemption is repeated throughout Parashat Vayeshev, as we read of many instances in which pain and suffering lead to freedom and joy.

Study of Ritual鈥擲tudy as Ritual (Part 2)

Nov 20, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

, we looked at the three blessings recited traditionally each day, affirming that the study of Torah is a mitzvah, a source of beauty for all generations, and that God is (continually) giving Torah (Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays, 4). Today we explore an unusual type of textual engagement that follows these blessings, both immediately and through the unfolding cycle of the siddur. The blessings are followed directly by three texts (ibid., 5): the birkat kohanim (Priestly Blessing, Num, 6:24鈥�26); a selection from the Mishnah (Pe鈥檃h1:1); and a selection from the Talmud (BT Shabbat 127a). Each of them is intriguing.

The Land of Sojourning

Nov 19, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayeshev

After the relative insecurity and turbulence of Jacob鈥檚 life (masquerading as his brother Esau, taking flight to Laban鈥檚 home, becoming the victim of deception vis-脿-vis a wife and his wages, and the wrestling match of last week), Parashat Vayeshev opens with the hope of the patriarch transitioning into a calmer stage of life.

Jacob’s Fear

Nov 13, 2013 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Vayishlah

The Torah wants us to identify with the ancestors we meet in the book of Genesis; indeed, Abraham and Sarah and their children become our ancestors when we agree not only to read their stories, but to take them forward. Abraham 鈥渂egat鈥� Isaac in one sense by supplying the seed for his conception. He 鈥渂egat鈥� him as well by shaping the life that Isaac would live, setting its direction, digging wells that his son would re-dig, making Isaac鈥檚 story infinitely more meaningful鈥攁nd terrifying鈥攂y placing him in the line of partners with God in covenant. So it is with us.

Study of Ritual – Study as Ritual

Nov 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

We do not study Torah primarily to find out what God wants us to do, and we certainly do not study our sacred texts to learn history, or medicine. The act of Talmud Torah, the studying of Torah, is itself a mitzvah, a command. As with many commandments (eating matzah, putting on tefillin, etc), there is a berakhah, a blessing, that precedes the act. In Siddur Sim Shalom: A Prayerbook for Shabbat, Festivals, and Weekdays (4), we find three linked blessings about Torah.

Seeing the Image of God

Nov 12, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayishlah

After a 20-year absence from home and family back in the Land of Israel, Jacob journeys home. And like any of us en route to the home of our family of origin, anxiety and uncertainty (along with anticipation and joy) play core roles in the experience.

A Guide for the Perplexed: A Novel

Nov 11, 2013 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

Novelist Dara Horn, the winner of two National Jewish Book Awards, on her new book, A Guide For The Perplexed: A Novel.

Hatemail: Anti-Semitism on Picture Postcards A Discussion with Author Salo Aizenberg

Nov 7, 2013 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

Salo Aizenberg, one of the leading collectors of Judaic picture postcards, is also the author of Postcards from the Holy Land: A Pictorial History of the Ottoman Era, 1880-1918. He is a managing director of the RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund, and coordinates its business development activities. He earned his BS in Management Information Systems at the State University of New York at Binghamton and his MBA at Columbia Business School.

What Is Life Worth? Tailoring the Law to Meet the Challenges of Unique Catastrophes

Nov 6, 2013

9/11. The BP oil spill. The Boston Marathon bombing. Major tragedies captivate the public and often galvanize officials into using unconventional strategies to help those most affected.

The Anomaly of the Night: Fear, Power, Divine Presence (Shekhinah), Part 2

Nov 6, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

To the human heart and soul, night and morning are profoundly different, even though an astronomer would see them as equivalent observed consequences of the orbit of the earth around the sun. The first blessing of the evening service (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat, 28) praises God for establishing the natural cycles: 鈥淵ou roll away light as darkness sets in, and darkness as the light dawns.鈥� The morning service offers a tight structure of two blessings before, and one after, the Shema鈥� on the themes of Creation, Revelation, and Redemption (to be explored here in a future essay). Although the texts are a little different in the morning and the evening, the themes are identical.

Being in the Land

Nov 6, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayetzei

Parashat Vayetzei opens with Jacob鈥檚 flight from the Land of Israel.

Rachel Leans In

Nov 5, 2013 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Vayetzei

Recent conversations in popular feminism revolve around trying to capture what it means to 鈥渉ave it all,鈥� and, if that鈥檚 even possible, how to achieve it.

Chancellor Eisen Discusses the Legacy of Rabbi David Hartman

Nov 4, 2013 By 91抖阴 | Public Event video

A discussion from “A Day of Study Celebrating the Impact of Rabbi Professor David Hartman,” held in New York City on May 5, 2013, featuring David Hartman’s onetime student and friend, Arnold Eisen, Chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary, in conversation with Donniel Hartman (President, Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem). The program was recorded by Shalom TV.

In Search of God

Oct 29, 2013 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Toledot

Through the unexpected and serendipitous Shabbat meal invitations that often seem to come about when one is studying in Jerusalem, I found myself many years ago sitting at the festive Shabbat table of an ultra-Orthodox family one autumn Friday night.

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