Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders
Mar 5, 2013 By Joy Ladin | Public Event audio
Dr. Joy Ladin, David and Ruth Gottesman Professor of English, Stern College for Women – Yeshiva University, discusses her work Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders.
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Pesah: A Liberating Experience for Women
Mar 4, 2013 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Pesah
There is no festival more home- and family-oriented than Pesah. Sukkot may run a close second, but the seder places Pesah way ahead. Although celebrating at home with a lavish family meal should make this holiday a pleasure to anticipate, for many women this is not so. The painstaking conversion of the kitchen from leaven-filled to leaven-free status has turned the Festival of Freedom into an intense period of domestic labor rather than a celebration of personal and national liberation. That was not the intention of the halakhah.
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鈥淚n God鈥檚 Hand I Place My Soul鈥� (Part 1)
Feb 27, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
There are moments when our prayers and spiritual poetry (piyyutim) make profound declarations about life and death, about humanity and God. Often these moments are recognized as awesome and important, and there is a sense within the synagogue community of this significance; for example, in asserting the unity of God (the Shema鈥�), God鈥檚 holiness (the kedushah), and the role of destiny (鈥�Unetaneh tokef鈥� on Rosh Hashanah).
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The Art of Torah
Feb 27, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tissa
Too often, the arts are underappreciated in the Jewish community.
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When God Said 鈥淣o鈥� to Moses
Feb 26, 2013 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Ki Tissa
It must have been a great comfort to Moses鈥攁nd not only a disappointment鈥攖hat God turned down his request to see God鈥檚 glory. The wind was presence enough, on top of the mountain, much of the time鈥攖he wind, and the voice in the wind. Every visit of divine speech exhausted him now. Even the words that did not demand that he do battle, climb higher, challenge Pharaoh, rebuke the Israelites yet again, or simply鈥攐n some days the hardest鈥攅ndure.
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Justice, Tzedek, Sadaqah: Pursuing Social Justice in Multi-faith Communities
Feb 21, 2013 By 91抖阴 | Public Event video
This multi-faith panel of “elders” discusses how multi-faith communities have influenced social justice over the past two decades, what are the current issues being addressed, and what is still to be accomplished. They offer insight into how young activists can play a pivotal role in accomplishing some of these key objectives and what it will mean for the future of this country and our place in a global society.
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Serve God With Joy
Feb 20, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
I recall reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while in elementary school, and being stumped by a description of the powerful singing in church of 鈥淥ld Hundred.鈥� What might this 鈥淥ld Hundred鈥� be, and why was it being sung in church with such fervor? Eventually, I found out that this was Psalm 100, and was sung by the community as it learned that Tom Sawyer was alive, and had mischievously staged his own disappearance.
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Parts of a Whole
Feb 20, 2013 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Tetzavveh | Purim
A strange fact about being human: we never see any object in its entirety. We perceive in three dimensions, but see only in two so that our seeing is always at the mercy of our believing.
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Clothing Ourselves in Sanctity
Feb 20, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tetzavveh | Purim
Clothing offers keen insight in two complementary directions. First, the garments one wears reveals one鈥檚 personality.
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How We Can Build the Synagogue of the Future
Feb 13, 2013 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Terumah
If you care deeply about the present and future state of the synagogue, as I do, it鈥檚 difficult to resist the temptation to draw lessons from the remarkable vision of communal worship set forth in this week鈥檚 Torah portion. I do not intend to resist. Three aspects of the divine plan for the Tabernacle strike me as particularly relevant to our contemporary situation.
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鈥淔ill Our Eyes with Light . . . Cause Our Heart to Cling鈥� (Part 2)
Feb 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Last week we looked at the phrase 鈥�ha鈥檈r eyenynu鈥� (Fill our eyes with the light of Your Torah), and now let us look more closely at the continuation of the same sentence: 鈥渧edabek libeinu bemitzvotekha鈥� (and make our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot) [Siddur Sim Shalom Daily, 32].
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God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
Feb 12, 2013 By Raymond Scheindlin | Commentary | Purim
How is it possible to tell a story of redemption without even once mentioning the name of God?
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Little Purim
Feb 12, 2013 By 91抖阴 | Podcast or Radio Program | Purim
A 1951 episode of “The Eternal Light” radio program about a boy and his violin on Purim.
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Purim: The Triumph of Understanding Over Hatred
Feb 12, 2013 By 91抖阴 | Podcast or Radio Program | Purim
Taken from the archives of “The Eternal Light” radio program, this 1954 commentary on Purim is delivered by Murray Bellow, a noted civic leader of the time.
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The Laws of Passover
Feb 11, 2013 By Isaac Klein | Pesah
From: A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice
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The Laws of Purim
Feb 11, 2013 By Isaac Klein | Purim
From: A Guide to Jewish Religiious Practice
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“Truthiness” in the Bible
Feb 7, 2013 By Robert Harris | Video Lecture
What the Bible Means, What it Meant, and Why the Difference Matters: A recorded live stream lunch and learn
Taking Time to Be There
Feb 6, 2013 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Mishpatim
Moses needs time to immerse himself in the law and his relationship with God. He needs to experience what it meant to climb this mountain, literally and figuratively. If he didn鈥檛 yet know that, God did.
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鈥淔ill Our Eyes With Light . . . Cause Our Hearts to Cling鈥� (Part 1)
Feb 5, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Phrases in the siddur are filled with echoes of earlier texts and give birth to newer metaphors and meanings. The blessing immediately before the Shema鈥� in every morning service contains the phrase 鈥�ha鈥檈r eyneinu beToratekha vedabek libeinu bemitzvotekha鈥� (Fill our eyes with the light of Your Torah, and make our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot.) [Siddur Sim Shalom, 32.]
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The Curious Case of the Slave Who Refuses Freedom
Feb 5, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Mishpatim
Coming on the heels of the Revelation at Sinai, Parashat Mishpatim opens with laws concerning slaves.
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