Redemption: Israel’s Partnership with God

Mar 31, 2007 By Eliezer B. Diamond | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol

The first teaching attributed to Hillel in Tractate Avot is the following: “Be one of Aaron’s disciples, one who loves peace and pursues it, one who loves one’s fellow human beings and brings them near to the Torah.”

Sacrifice in Middle Age

Mar 24, 2007 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Vayikra

It took middle age to bring me to appreciation of Leviticus — that, and the work of biblical scholars like Jacob Milgrom and anthropologists like Mary Douglas. Now I approach the book each year truly grateful that it exists to confront me again with aspects of life and death I might otherwise have missed or avoided.

Calling Out

Mar 24, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayikra

This week represents new beginnings in the Jewish calendar. We welcomed the month of Nisan in which we celebrate our birth as a people and a nation; and this week we begin a new book of Torah, Leviticus, or in Hebrew, Va–yikra.. More than the significance of this liminal moment is the extent to which the notion of relationship locates itself at the core of both of these events. In so many ways, Nisan celebrates the relationship of God and Israel — God’s act of covenantal fulfillment and hesed in taking the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. And similarly, the Book of Leviticus opens with a curious commentary on relationships — specifically, the relationship between God and Moses.

Inspiring Our Institutions

Mar 17, 2007 By Steven Brown | Commentary | Pekudei | Vayak-hel

The detailed description of the completion of the Mishkan in all its splendor can overwhelm us with a plethora of information, blinding us to the power and importance of this week’s double parashah concluding the book of Exodus.

Actions with Consequences

Mar 10, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tissa

The Second Book of Samuel 12 is home to one of the most disturbing episodes of Tanakh. After King David’s reckless encounter with Batsheva and the murder of Uriah the Hittite, Nathan the prophet is sent by God to rebuke David. Nathan speaks in a biting metaphor, leading David in the direction of seeing himself as the guilty party of the parable. And just as Nathan concludes his story, he points his finger at David — informing David of his punishment: the sword will forever plague his household. What becomes shocking, though, is not the punishment that devolves on the shoulders of David, but rather the tragic end to the offspring of David and Batsheva.

Continuing Our Ancestors’ Debate with God

Mar 9, 2007 By Stephen P. Garfinkel | Commentary | Ki Tissa

Location, location, location! That’s not only a mantra in real estate but is also, as we shall see, an essential component in understanding some key elements of Ki Tissa, this week’s Torah reading.

Clothing Without and Within

Mar 3, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tetzavveh | Purim

Clothing offers keen insight in two complementary directions. First, the raiment one wears reveals one’s personality. While a neat, well fitting suit may convey a sense of professionalism and conservatism, jeans and a tie-dyed shirt reflect a casual, relaxed, and liberal sense of self. And just as clothing offers an allusion inward, so, too, does it give us a sense of what is transpiring around us. A kittel (a white ritual robe worn at liminal moments) or tallit (prayer shawl) signals a moment of prayerful reflection; tuxedos and gowns tip us off to a wedding reception; and black garments often represent mourning. Thus, clothing is a mark of the internal as well as the external.

“The More the Merrier?”

Feb 24, 2007 By Robert Harris | Commentary | Terumah

We have all heard and used the expression, “the more the merrier.”

The Ethereal and the Material

Feb 17, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Mishpatim

Parashat Mishpatim records the pinnacle of closeness between God and people. After the Ten Commandments (last week) and a catalogue of other civil and ethical laws, Moses affirms the covenant by sacrificing animals and dashing their blood against an altar. “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu (two of Aaron’s sons) and seventy elders of Israel ascended; and they saw the God of Israel; under his feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity.” (Exodus 24:9—10). What do the people do immediately after experiencing this sublime revelation? They head for the bagels and whitefish!

The One Law of the Torah

Feb 17, 2007 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Mishpatim

Our parashah this week is called “Mishpatim” or laws.

Finding Balance

Feb 10, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Yitro

Negotiating personal and professional boundaries is one of the greatest challenges facing working individuals today. We live in a world that prizes productivity over patience and boundless devotion over definitive limits. Store hours lengthen, the banking week extends, and slowly work overtakes one’s life. Given this reality, Judaism is countercultural. It is a system of belief that places boundaries on one’s behavior. Indeed, eating, sex, and economic pursuits are all limited by sacred structures (kashrut, taharat ha–mishpaha [laws of family purity], and Shabbat, respectively). What is striking is that too often, we fail to recognize the need to set limits to our behaviors; classically, it takes an outsider to focus our attention toward constructive criticism.

The Challenges of Leadership

Feb 10, 2007 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Yitro

The paradigms of leadership that emerge from the Bible teach us much about the human quotient in leadership.

When to Give

Feb 4, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Terumah

In many ways, Parashat T’rumah represents a thematic transition from engaging biblical narrative to technical description and detail. As the parashah opens, we become privy to the details of the Tabernacle and its appurtenances. And while we are initially dazzled by the vibrant colors and materials, the details become overwhelming. Our eyes glaze over, and it is difficult for the reader to engage. Sensing this challenge to his congregants, the classical fifteenth-century bible commentator Abarbanel opened his treatise on this parashah with an important word of encouragement.

Finding the Strength to Face the Unknown

Feb 3, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Beshallah

Parashat Beshallah witnesses the triumphant redemption.

A Personal Relationship to Torah

Feb 3, 2007 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Beshallah

In his parashah commentary several weeks ago on the beginning of the book of Exodus, our Chancellor-elect Arnold Eisen shared what I consider one of my favorite texts.

Pesah Three Ways

Jan 27, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bo | Pesah

Unambiguous ambiguity is the hallmark of philology, the study of words. The deeper one delves into the meaning of a given word, the more that particular word yields to shades of meaning. This week’s Torah reading, Parashat Bo, presents us with one such example of multilayered understandings and readings. As the Children of Israel depart from Egypt, God issues the first commandment to the Israelites: “This month [Nisan] will mark for you the beginning of the months.” (Exodus 12:2). How are the Israelites to mark this new month of Nisan? On the tenth day of the month, the Israelites are commanded to select a lamb which will serve as the Pesah offering to God. What precisely is the meaning of Pesah?

Free Will and Dental Care

Jan 26, 2007 By Eliezer B. Diamond | Commentary | Bo

After years of neglect and in response to the prodding of my dentist, I have undertaken a much more rigorous program of care for my teeth.

Creatures of Habit

Jan 20, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'era

Why did God “harden Pharaoh’s heart”? To what extent was God acting justly or fairly? How may we understand God’s gesture in light of free choice? Parashat Va-era presents a classic challenge to our modern sensibilities. Yet ours is not the first generation to ask these questions.