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What Did Joseph Mean to Say?

Dec 3, 2013 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Vayiggash

Joseph, viceroy of Egypt, who has not yet revealed himself to his brothers, threatens to retain his brother Benjamin as a slave (Gen. 44:17).

The Wisdom of Joseph: Saving Self and Country

Nov 27, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz

Parashat Miketz opens with Pharaoh plagued by two disturbing dreams pregnant with meaning.

First Word: “Thanks—Modeh”

Nov 27, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

I recall learning Hebrew at the breakfast table from my polyglot father, who spoke 10 languages, saying “todah” (thanks) or “todah rabbah” (thank you very much) as occasion demanded—which in England it did a lot. The formality of prayerful English kept hidden from me the extent to which giving thanks (thanksgiving) fills our liturgy, literally from the very first word.

Miketz—Hanukkah—Thanksgiving

Nov 27, 2013 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the original Thanksgiving. While it is true that our ancestors did not eat turkey (a North American bird), they certainly were cooking with oil.

Power of Redemption

Nov 20, 2013 By Mitchell Cohen | Commentary | Vayeshev

The theme of oppression and redemption is repeated throughout Parashat Vayeshev, as we read of many instances in which pain and suffering lead to freedom and joy.

Study of Ritual—Study as Ritual (Part 2)

Nov 20, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Last week, we looked at the three blessings recited traditionally each day, affirming that the study of Torah is a mitzvah, a source of beauty for all generations, and that God is (continually) giving Torah (Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays, 4). Today we explore an unusual type of textual engagement that follows these blessings, both immediately and through the unfolding cycle of the siddur. The blessings are followed directly by three texts (ibid., 5): the birkat kohanim (Priestly Blessing, Num, 6:24–26); a selection from the Mishnah (Pe’ah1:1); and a selection from the Talmud (BT Shabbat 127a). Each of them is intriguing.

The Land of Sojourning

Nov 19, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayeshev

After the relative insecurity and turbulence of Jacob’s life (masquerading as his brother Esau, taking flight to Laban’s home, becoming the victim of deception vis-à-vis a wife and his wages, and the wrestling match of last week), Parashat Vayeshev opens with the hope of the patriarch transitioning into a calmer stage of life.

Study of Ritual – Study as Ritual

Nov 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

We do not study Torah primarily to find out what God wants us to do, and we certainly do not study our sacred texts to learn history, or medicine. The act of Talmud Torah, the studying of Torah, is itself a mitzvah, a command. As with many commandments (eating matzah, putting on tefillin, etc), there is a berakhah, a blessing, that precedes the act. In Siddur Sim Shalom: A Prayerbook for Shabbat, Festivals, and Weekdays (4), we find three linked blessings about Torah.

Jacob’s Fear

Nov 13, 2013 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Vayishlah

The Torah wants us to identify with the ancestors we meet in the book of Genesis; indeed, Abraham and Sarah and their children become our ancestors when we agree not only to read their stories, but to take them forward. Abraham “begat” Isaac in one sense by supplying the seed for his conception. He “begat” him as well by shaping the life that Isaac would live, setting its direction, digging wells that his son would re-dig, making Isaac’s story infinitely more meaningful—and terrifying—by placing him in the line of partners with God in covenant. So it is with us.

Seeing the Image of God

Nov 12, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayishlah

After a 20-year absence from home and family back in the Land of Israel, Jacob journeys home. And like any of us en route to the home of our family of origin, anxiety and uncertainty (along with anticipation and joy) play core roles in the experience.

The Anomaly of the Night: Fear, Power, Divine Presence (Shekhinah), Part 2

Nov 6, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

To the human heart and soul, night and morning are profoundly different, even though an astronomer would see them as equivalent observed consequences of the orbit of the earth around the sun. The first blessing of the evening service (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat, 28) praises God for establishing the natural cycles: “You roll away light as darkness sets in, and darkness as the light dawns.” The morning service offers a tight structure of two blessings before, and one after, the Shema’ on the themes of Creation, Revelation, and Redemption (to be explored here in a future essay). Although the texts are a little different in the morning and the evening, the themes are identical.

Being in the Land

Nov 6, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayetzei

Parashat Vayetzei opens with Jacob’s flight from the Land of Israel.

Rachel Leans In

Nov 5, 2013 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Vayetzei

Recent conversations in popular feminism revolve around trying to capture what it means to “have it all,” and, if that’s even possible, how to achieve it.

Night: Fear, Power, Divine Presence (Shekhinah)

Oct 29, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Transitions are times of vulnerability, anxiety, even fear. The mezuzah guides us through the transition between our home and the outside world. The words of the challenging, non-Israelite Prophet Balaam welcome us into the synagogue: “Mah Tovu (How beautiful are your tents O Jacob).” I wrote several reflections on the prayer texts that support us from sleep to wakefulness, giving thanks for soul and body restored to strength and vitality for another day.

In Search of God

Oct 29, 2013 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Toledot

Through the unexpected and serendipitous Shabbat meal invitations that often seem to come about when one is studying in Jerusalem, I found myself many years ago sitting at the festive Shabbat table of an ultra-Orthodox family one autumn Friday night.

The Challenge of Tomorrow’s Blessing

Oct 29, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Toledot

Parashat Toledot opens in life and closes with the threat of death.

Mizmor LeDavid (Psalm 23)—Time, Text, Melody

Oct 23, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Psalm 23 is beloved in much of the English-speaking world for affirming a certainty of the divine presence—even in times of dread and adversity—in the most hauntingly beautiful language. The paean to the Psalm by 19th-century American pastor Henry Ward Beecher is widely cited.“The twenty third psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It is small, of a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity; but oh! it has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive” (Life Thoughts).