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.
God Does Not Act Alone
Parashat Va-eira is an epic and escalating battle between God and Pharaoh.
Learning and Acting on the Lessons of the Exodus
In this portion the plagues come to a devastating end. The final plague is the death of the first males born of humans and animals: only the Israelites are spared.
Experiencing God’s Miracles: Being Ready to Act
Each year, when we reach Parashat B'shalach, I try to imagine how frightening it must have been for our ancestors to reach the Red Sea and to know that the Egyptian army was closing in on them. Was freedom only an illusion? They must have thought it was a mistake to believe that they could escape from the great Egyptian military power. How foolish they had been to believe Moses who spoke for an invisible God!
The Spiritual Climax of Now
As we near the end of Deuteronomy, prepare to begin the yearly Torah cycle anew, and celebrate the finale of the fall holidays, we are poised for a remarkable spiritual climax. This week’s Torah portion, Haazinu, includes Moses’ dramatic theological poem – a powerful cry of the heart because he wants to ensure that the community understands the core principles of what it means to be an Israelite.
The Climax of Sukkot and the Profound Joy of the Journey
More than any other Jewish holiday or ritual, I love the audacity of Sukkot. After the many profound words and seemingly endless prayers of the High Holidays, Sukkot offers a very different holiday mode. The main theme and ultimate goal of the holiday is to achieve climactic joy throughout the holiday, including the intermediate days, which are known as Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot.