Everything Old Can Be New Again
A few weeks ago, in studying Parashat R'eih, I noted that the Torah gives us a great gift of joy—a command to celebrate with one's entire household—tucked into a long passage replete with warnings of failures and curses literally shouted from the mountaintops.
A Jew Is a Jew, No Matter How Far
In Parashat Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20), Moses is coming to the end of his oration, the end of his leadership, and the end of his life.
There Is “No” Other
When I am preparing a family for the funeral of a loved one, we meet privately to recite the phrase Baruch Dayan HaEmet, "Blessed is the True Judge," as we put a tear in the black k'riah ribbons of mourning. We acknowledge that saying the words and hearing the sound are harsh.
So, What’s the Point? Ecclesiastes and Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot
Chances are that many of us are familiar only with the section of Ecclesiastes that begins "To everything there is a season," only because we've heard it at a funeral or – thanks to the late Pete Seeger – at a hootenanny.
Answers Are Important, But Questions Matter More
"Who's there?" is the first thing we read in Shakespeare's Hamlet. It encapsulates the topic of the entire play. "Where are you?" is the first question asked by God in the Torah (Genesis 3:9). From a metaphysical point of view, it captures the topic of the entire Bible.
Hearing the Cries of Mothers and Children
Pack your loads on my back. / Force me to your destination. / I will go the mile you demand, and even a mile further.
God as Matchmaker
With so many matchmaking and online dating services, it's no surprise that people are looking for love, but as a recent Pew study1 shows, their search results in marriage less and less often. That's because relationships of any kind are seldom easy.
Growing Up as the Favorite Son
Parashat Vayeishev introduces the Joseph saga. When it begins, Jacob’s 11th son, Joseph, is a 17-year-old shepherd working in the fields alongside his older brothers. The text’s description of him as a “youth,” na-ar, is apt, both biologically and emotionally. As Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg writes: “Joseph behaves with the narcissism of youth, with a dangerous unawareness of the inner worlds of others” (Zornberg, Genesis: The Beginning of Desire [Philadelphia: JPS,1995], p. 253). He consciously tells Jacob malicious tales about the brothers and by wearing the beautiful, multicolored coat (or ornamental tunic) that Jacob has given him, flaunts the fact that he is the favorite son. It is thus not surprising that when Joseph’s brothers see that their father loves him more than they, they come to hate Joseph (Genesis 37:4).