Jewish Ways of Marking Time
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, contains a section that is read in the synagogue not only as we make our way through Leviticus, but on each of the three pilgrimage festivals:
Reigniting the Spark of Community
Before the pandemic, I took so much for granted: hugging friends, visiting family, singing at concerts, eating at restaurants, going anywhere I desired.
What Political System Does the Torah Favor?
I have never thought of the Torah as a political manifesto. That is, I do not see the Torah as advancing a political system comparable to the type of systems that we see in contemporary society.
Embracing the Unknowable
Build Longer Tables, Not Higher Walls
Choose Hope: The Story of Coach Ted Lasso and the Biblical Caleb
It’s An Old Song, But We Sing It Anyway
When I prepare the Torah scroll for the upcoming Shabbat and come to that white space dividing the end of the Book of Numbers from the beginning of Deuteronomy, I feel a moment of exhilaration.
Jacob’s Vertical and Horizontal Encounters
As Parashat Vayeitzei begins Jacob is fleeing from his home in Beersheba. He’s afraid his brother, Esau, will make good on his threat to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41), because Jacob (with Rebecca’s guidance) tricked their father, Isaac into giving the blessing for the firstborn to Jacob.
The Power of Names and Naming
Elie Wiesel has written, "In Jewish history, a name has its own history and its own memory. It connects beings with their origins.