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Sources of Comfort
Dec 10, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayehi
Some things, it seems, are not just coincidences. As I write these words, I am still in the sheloshim – the 30 day mourning period – for my 38-year-old brother Jonathan, who died suddenly of a massive heart attack. And our parasha deals with the end of the life of Jacob, who, though he lived one hundred and forty-seven years, described his “years of sojourn” on earth as “few and hard.” (Genesis 47:9)
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Finding Lessons in Miracles
Jul 3, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Balak
One of the most challenging aspects of the Torah for modern readers, we, who have been trained to think logically and rationally, is how to interpret the miracles that occur in the narrative. Desiring to be faithful to the text, yet, not wanting to close off the rational side of our brains, contemporary readers may be troubled by passages in the Torah that clearly contradict what they know to occur naturally.
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Blessings of Peace
May 29, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Naso
In a world filled with continual violence, where killings of Americans, Israelis and Iraqis by horrific means have become, to our great sorrow, daily items in our news – we ask ourselves: When will peace come? When will we be able to turn on our television sets, read our newspapers, and learn that no more bloodshed has occurred, that former enemies are speaking to each other, and parents can go to sleep at night knowing that they will find their children alive in the morning?
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Our Neighbor’s Blood
May 1, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Kedoshim
What’s in a translation? When the translation is of a verse in the Torah – there is potentially quite a lot. Therefore, in reading the Etz Hayim Humash’s translation of Leviticus 19:16, I was struck by its rather non-literal translation of Lo ta-a-mod al dam ray-ekha. In the context of surrounding verses concerning fair and just treatment of others, Etz Hayim translates our verse: “Do not profit by the blood of your fellow”, and the commentary on the verse tells us that, in context, the verse seems to mean: “Do not pursue [your] livelihood in a way that endangers another or at the expense of another’s well-being.” (p. 696) This translation and commentary do seem to fit the context of the surrounding verses.
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An Offering of Wholeness
Apr 3, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Tzav
Despite all the detail in Parashat Tzav, it is not entirely clear what is meant by the zevah sh’lamim – often translated as “peace offering” or “offering of well-being”. It is clearly differentiated from the other sacrifices in our parashah because the worshipper participates in its ritual offering, and receives part of the animal for him or herself. In all the other sacrifices in the parashah, it is only the priests who take part in the ritual and the consumption of the sacrifice.
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The Sound of a Guest
Mar 6, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Tetzavveh
I am continually amazed at how the Rabbis of ancient times were able to make even seemingly obscure passages in the Torah relevant to their times – and ours. Our parashah this week is full of details, details about the clothing and ornaments of the priests and of their ordination. And while the Rabbis of ancient times may have longed for a rebuilding of the Temple – with all its consequent religious, national and political significance – in their day it was no longer standing, and its priests were no longer functioning. What then, to make of the sections of the Torah dealing with the priests’ garments?
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Life’s Cycles
Jan 31, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Bo | Shabbat Rosh Hodesh
In the midst of recounting the horrifying last three plagues in Egypt, God tells Moses and Aaron: “This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2) As the Etz Hayim Humash remarks: “A slave does not control his or her own time; it belongs to someone else.” (p. 380). One of the first steps in the liberation of the Israelites, then, was for them to have their own calendar – to measure their lives and their holy moments in their own way, not at the dictates of others.
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Cry Along with Me
Dec 6, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayetzei
A parashah of deep passion, Va-Yetze often tears me apart while reading it. In it, Jacob falls in love, is deceived by his uncle/ father-in-law, marries two sisters, takes two concubines, and becomes father to eleven sons and one daughter! Though destined to become our third Patriarch, Jacob in these 20 years of his life lives with pain and deception, and causes deep pain, at the very least, to his two wives—Rachel and Leah.
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Chaos and Creation
Nov 1, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Noah
Striking me, on this year’s reading of Parashat Noah, were the two following verses: “God caused a wind to blow across the earth, and the waters subsided” (Genesis 8:1), and “But the dove could not find a resting place for its foot (v’lo matz’ah ha-yonah manoah), and returned to him to the ark, for there was water over all the earth” (Genesis 8:9).
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Remembrance, Childbirth, and Renewal
Sep 27, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah
Remembrance. Childbirth. Renewed hopes and dreams.
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Birth and the Giving of the Torah
Jun 7, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Shavuot
As I write these words, I am waiting for the imminent birth of a child which my husband and I hope to adopt.
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Rachel’s Tears
May 10, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Emor | Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzma'ut
It is hard not to be moved by the verses in our parashah which say that when a sheep or goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and that “no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day as its young.” (Leviticus 22:28) Though few of us are close to sheep or goats, we are sensitized to the feelings of animals from our loving relationships with our pets, and we feel the sensitivity the Torah holds for the sheep and goats, even though they are destined to become food for humans or sacrifices for God.
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A Ritual of Cleansing
Apr 12, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Metzora
Twelve years ago, just before I was ordained as a Conservative rabbi, I remember feeling that I wished the age—old practice of putting oil on the heads of “ordainees” was still in vogue. I had spent 6 intense years of my life working to become a rabbi — living at the Seminary, reading and writing voluminously about Talmud, Bible, History and Theology, studying for long hours in the library — and I think I wanted a concrete ritual to mark that hard work, those long hours, and that accomplishment. I believe I also wanted a special ritual that would mark my change in status — one day a regular Jew — the next day — a rabbi.
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In Anticipation of the Meal
Mar 15, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayikra
Perhaps it is the most troubling passages of the Torah which cause us to think and learn the most. At first glance, we may find them most difficult to accept — and may want to reject them out of hand. But at second and third glances, we may find that our discomfort gives way to new learning and new understanding.
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God’s Presence in the Arms of Loved Ones
Jan 18, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Beshallah
On the occasion of this joyful Shabbat, on which we celebrate the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, (and this year, Tu Bishevat), I find myself more contemplative than joyful.
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Memories
Dec 21, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayehi
The death of a parent is, for most of us, a profound loss. When we lose our mother or our father, we lose the people who have known us most deeply from the very inception of our lives. For many of us, we lose the people who have been our most ardent advocates, our biggest fans, our most loyal supporters. We lose the anchor in our lives, the people who have nurtured and loved us, counseled and guided us through problems small and large. When a parent dies — though we may have love from partners, children and friends — the special love, the intense love of that parent dies with him or her. And we are left bereft.
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The Reconciliation that Wasn’t
Nov 23, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayishlah
I am struck, on this reading of Parashat Va-Yishlah, by the dramatic tension between Jacob and Esau, as they anticipate meeting and as they finally cry together after 20 years of not seeing or speaking to each other. Though not many of us “run off with the birthright” of our siblings these days, many of us have difficult relationships with a brother or sister with whom we try to reach reconciliation. But it is not easy. And sometimes, it is impossible.
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Learning From Our Ancestor’s Struggles
Nov 22, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayetzei
I cannot read Parashat Va-Yetze dispassionately. The struggle between two sisters for the love of the same man, the back and forth attempt to win his affections by bearing more and more children, and the visible jealousy and pain that each one of them experiences, leaves me feeling angry every time I read the story. Particularly galling is Jacob’s reaction to Rachel—the wife whom he loves deeply—when she cannot become pregnant. She has seen her sister Leah bear Jacob three sons (presumably within three years), and can no longer take the pain of being the barren wife. “Give me children, or I shall die” she says to Jacob (Genesis 30:1). And the Torah records his response: “Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of God (‘hatahat elohim anokhi‘), who has denied you fruit of the womb?”
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Abraham’s Love
Oct 26, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayera
vi, our three and a half-year-old son, went to work with his Abba the other day. Though he spent a good deal of the day in the company’s child care center, he and his dad traveled on the subway together (watching the “local” and “express” trains), had lunch together, and then came home together. And these “father and son” experiences have become more and more frequent in the last year – Abba giving Avi a bath, Abba taking Avi to minyan with him, and of course, the nightly singing of “Abba Shema” before Avi goes to sleep. These experiences are endearing to me because I watch the flowering of the special relationship between our son and his father.
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How To Choose Life
Aug 31, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh | Rosh Hashanah
We stand at an exciting and important time in the Jewish year. We stand less than two weeks before Rosh Hashanah, when so many of us will spend hours in synagogue praying for a good, healthy and fulfilling new year. We stand in a moment of transition, filled with potential. There is so much we can do, so much we can learn, so much we can become.
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