JTS Torah Commentary

On New Beginnings

Oct 5, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bereishit

As a teacher for JTS Kollot: Voices of Learning, I hear many voices of Torah that open my eyes to creative ways of reading the texts of our sacred tradition.

Moving Society, and Ourselves, Forward

Aug 10, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shofetim

Parashat Shofetim is central to the entire Torah — “justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deut. 16:20). With these words, our parashah concerns itself with the appointment of magistrates and officials, the establishment of a court system free from impartiality and impropriety, the founding of cities of refuge, the delineation of laws concerning warfare, and communal responsibility in the case of an unsolved murder. Indeed, Shofetim seeks to move society forward — away from the slavery that defined Israelite existence in the land of Egypt. For with freedom comes responsibility.

Carrying Torah Forward

Jul 13, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Devarim

The prophet Hosea addresses the role of words in the sacred task of returning to God. In poetic brevity, the prophet declares, “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (Hosea 14:3). How appropriate it is that Parashat Devarim, read towards the beginning of the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, begins with the Hebrew word devarim, words. Encamped on the other side of the Jordan River in the land of Moab, Moses “undertook to expound this Teaching” (Deuteronomy 1:5). Precisely how does Moses ‘undertake to expound’ the Torah? And how can we understand Moses’ teaching in light of Hosea’s declaration?

Signs

Jul 5, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Korah

Dove and Rabbit

Mar 23, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav | Pesah

The experience of the exodus from Egypt, Yeziat Mitzrayim, which we commemorate on Passover, is indelibly marked in the collective consciousness of the Jewish nation. It is this notion — of having been slaves to the Egyptians — that plays such a profound role in defining the moral and ethical demands that the Torah places on us. Having known the experience of oppression, we are commanded to take that to heart, lest we turn to oppress our fellow human beings. Thus, Passover is a time in which we dwell on the essence of what it is that defines us as a people: how does our experience of slavery shape the way we behave today? What does it mean to be a chosen people? And how is that we as a people deal alternately with powerlessness and power?

Va-yikra’s Lessons for Conservative Jews

Mar 16, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayikra

This week marks the beginning of the third book of the Torah, Vayikra, alternately referred to in Hebrew as Torat Kohanim, the ‘teaching of the priests’, and in Latin as Leviticus. Modern scholars and traditional commentators alike highlight the positioning of Vayikra , literally at the heart of the Five Book of Moses. Such placement of Vayikra speaks to the centrality of its teachings in the Israelite experience, especially as they pertained to the sacrificial cult practiced by the Israelites in the First and Second Temple periods.

The Priest’s Brother

Feb 23, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tetzavveh

Parashat T’tzavveh describes the positions of priests and the high priest (cohen gadol), the clothing of their office and their initiation ceremony, complete with sacrifices and incense. Nechama Leibowitz points out an unusual feature of the parasha: Moses’ name does not appear once. He appears indirectly, as God says, “You yourself, speak to all the wise–hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him…” (Exodus 18:3). But even in the first phrase of the parasha, which so often reads, “And God spoke to Moses, saying…,” in T’tzavveh we read only, “And you yourself shall command the children of Israel (ve ata, tetzaveh et bnei Israel) that they bring you pure olive oil, beaten, for light, to burn a perpetual light” (Exodus 27:20).

Guilt of the Parents

Feb 2, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Yitro

Parashat Yitro is known for the appearance of the Ten Commandments, aseret ha—dibrot, the ten revealed “words” of God. While the majority of demands are straightforward and theologically tenable, a qualification in the second commandment has left generations of Jews wrestling with its implications. God declares, “You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heaven above, or on the earth below . . . You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children (poked avon avot al banim), upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:4—6). How are we to understand this biblical concept of vicarious punishment?

Being the Stranger

Jan 12, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'era

Parashat Vaera opens dramatically with God’s stirring proclamation to Moses: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai , but I did not make myself known to them by my nameAdonai . I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings (megureihem ), where they had sojourned (garu )” (Exodus 6: 2-4). God then goes on to make a fourfold promise of redemption. Still, God’s introductory words are striking — linking this promise of redemption to the same promise made to Moses’ ancestors. It is the fulfillment of an ancestral promise. Yet, what is even more profound is the language of Exodus 6:4 — specifically the repetition of the root ger, sojourner.

Lighting the Way

Dec 15, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Hanukkah

The traditional greeting for Hanukkah, Hag Urim Sameah, Happy Festival of Lights, speaks to the essence of our holiday observance — urim — which is the plural of the Hebrew ‘or’ meaning light. Indeed, rabbinic commentary underscores this plurality of light in alluding to three different and complementary sources of light: a light of creation, a light of revelation, and a light of redemption.

In the Shadow of 9/11

Oct 20, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Noah

One of the lessons we have derived from the events of our time is that we cannot dwell at ease under the sun of our civilization, that man is the least harmless of all beings. We feel how every minute in our civilization is packed with tension like the interlude between lightning and thunder. Man has not advanced very far from the coast of chaos.

Searching for God

Aug 18, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh

Spirituality has become the romantic goal of individuals thirsting in pursuit of deeper religious meaning. And while spirituality means something different to everyone, much of the American Jewish community has come to associate the pursuit of spirituality with the study of our mystical tradition, kabbalah. Kabbalah, it is believed, offers a direct and intimate pathway to God. So, not surprisingly, kabbalah centers (many of them peddling inauthentic and simplistic versions of the true kabbalistic tradition) have sprung up in Jewish communities across the country – attracting large numbers of affiliated as well as non-affiliated Jews, significant numbers of non-Jews, and a handful of superstars like Madonna. What accounts for the popularity of kabbalah today? It is the inviting promise of immediate spiritual fulfillment and unification with a tangible, accessible divinity that attracts such large numbers. What many of these people fail to understand is that according to the sages, kabbalah is one of the final stages of a lifetime devoted to Jewish learning, not the entry point.

How God Leads

Jun 9, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

Abraham Joshua Heschel writes eloquently that the supreme aspiration of religion is to inspire each one of us, in the words of the psalmist, ‘to lift up your eyes and see.’ Heschel explains: “The grand premise of religion is that man is able to surpass himself; that man who is a part of this world may enter into a relationship with God who is greater than this world; that man may lift up his mind and be attached to the absolute; that man who is conditioned by a multiplicity of factors is capable of living with demands that are unconditioned.” The challenge, then, is to identify one’s path toward a meaningful and sanctified life, guided by one’s relationship with God.

Kindling the Light of Torah

May 12, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Emor

This past week the JTS community gathered together to celebrate the completion of the Kripke Tower. This magnificent tower blesses JTS with more classroom space, a state–of–the–art music studio and language lab, and a video conferencing center which will serve the needs of students, faculty and staff. Even the entryway conveys a message of mutuality, as light from outside filters through the glass breezeway, while light from the interior courtyard reflects back out to the street. One final detail of architectural insight will crown the Kripke Tower when it is officially dedicated in just under two weeks. As JTS enhances its capacity to spread its message of Torah and mitzvot throughout the Jewish world, an everlasting light (ner tamid) will be lit at the top of the tower guarding over JTS.

The Mitzvah of Circumcision

Nov 11, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Lekh Lekha

Parashat Lekh L’kha is the story of God’s covenant with Abraham and, by extension, with all future Israelite generations. The climax of this story is the mitzvah of circumcision. Few mitzvot in our tradition have elicited the enduring commitment and unwavering observance of the majority of our people as has the ritual of circumcision. Few mitzvot have yielded the intensity of emotion and fascination which pervades any brit milah.

How We Serve God

Aug 26, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh

Demonstrating uncompromising devotion to God is the theme of this week’s parashah, Parashat Re’eh. Such devotion is expressed through belief, but more importantly, through avodah, meaningful service to God. For the biblical Israelite, service to God meant loyalty to God’s commandments and participation in the sacrificial cult. For Deuteronomy, avodah referred specifically to offering sacrifices to God at a central place of worship: “look only to the site that the Lord your God will choose amidst all your tribes as His habitation, to establish His name there. There you are to go, and there you are to bring your burnt offerings and other sacrifices…” (Deuteronomy 12:5-6).

Our Nature Is to Be with God

Aug 9, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'et-hannan

Parashat Vaet’hanan comes in the aftermath of Tisha B’Av, the fast in which we commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temples and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. The theme of our asceticism on this day is not only mourning, but more importantly a spur to teshuvah, repentance. This week’s parashah informs our understanding of calamity and its relation to teshuvah. Moses warns the Israelites, “take care, then, not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God conc

Between Zealotry and Peace

Jul 22, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Pinehas

This week, we read the first of three “haftarot of rebuke” which precede Tisha B’av. Even though this Haftorah is ordinarily associated with Mattot, Mattot is read as the first half of a double–portion this year. We read this haftorah a week “early” to be sure we don’t miss it.

Listening to Our Enemies

Jul 8, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Korah

On Motzei Shabbat, June 24, 2000, the Conservative synagogue of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem, Kehillat Ya’ar Ramot, was set ablaze. According to the New York Times (Monday, June 26, 2000) this hateful act also involved the defacement of the synagogue “with grafitti that labeled it a place unworthy of worship, and said that a yeshiva–trained Jew should not be there.” Numerous eyewitnesses saw “apparently religious men, wearing black velvet skullcaps and white shirts, fleeing as the flames raged.” Prime Minister Ehud Barak rightly called this tragic incident “an awful act that causes every Jew to shudder.” Indeed, the flames which marred this synagogue were ignited by sinat hinam, baseless hatred a painful, incomprehensible hatred all too familiar to the Jewish people. 

Perception and Practice

Jul 1, 2000 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

Six years ago, while studying in Israel, a close friend, my father and I decided to make a two day camping trip to Eilat and then to St. Catherine’s Monastery which sits at the foot of what Christian tradition believes to be Mt. Sinai. For me, this was my second pilgrimage to this extraordinary site; my first hike up Jebel Musa (Mt. Sinai) had taken place two years earlier.