![Moshe Learns to Say Good-bye](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/rachel_rosenthal_sq-300x300.jpg)
Moshe Learns to Say Good-bye
Aug 26, 2016 By Rachel Rosenthal | Commentary | Eikev
One last time
the people will hear from me
one last time
and if we get this right
we’re gonna teach ’em how to say
goodbye.
You and I—
—George Washington in Hamilton: An American Musical
Read More![The Smell of Canaan](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/alisa.jpg)
The Smell of Canaan
Aug 19, 2016 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
The smell of Canaan he has had for all his life; that he should see the land only before his death is hard to believe. . . . Not because his life was too short does Moses not reach Canaan, but because it was a human life.
Read More—Franz Kafka, in a diary entry from 1921
![Experiencing the Light of Torah](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/wilson_spiro-300x300.jpg)
Experiencing the Light of Torah
Aug 19, 2016 By Nicole Wilson-Spiro | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
This summer I returned to Jewish overnight camp after a 15-year hiatus. After all this time, s’mores, a love of cheering in unison (has the cheering gotten louder or am I older?), and earnest, hard-working counselors (I was one, once) are still to be found at camp. I am happy to report that the food is now much, much better than I remembered, and the supervision and attention to camper care have improved vastly, as well.
Read More![The Currencies of Justice](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/david_hoffman-300x300.jpg)
The Currencies of Justice
Aug 12, 2016 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Devarim
You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low [katan] and high [gadol] alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s. (Deut. 1:17)
Philo, the great 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish thinker, was engaged in a project that in many ways was deeply modern. He sought to “translate” Judaism for the Greek-speaking world of his day, and to demonstrate to a highly educated and urbane population that the Torah was a philosophically serious work. Not only could one be a Jew and be a Greek, but in many ways a pious Jew was the truest of Greeks.
Read More![With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/siegel-300x300.jpg)
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Aug 12, 2016 By Dave Siegel | Commentary | Devarim
Although I have learned from many amazing educators, the teaching that has probably had the greatest impact on me did not come from school, rabbinic literature, or even my parents. It came from Spider-Man. I can directly trace my desire to work in the nonprofit world to Spider-Man. Although there is debate about where the expression originates, the message of his origin story is clear: “With great power there must also come—great responsibility!” The idea that individuals who have the ability and opportunity to make a difference in this world are obligated to do so is the foundation of how many people try to live their lives.
Read More![A Summer of Discontent](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/arnie_eisen-300x300.jpg)
A Summer of Discontent
Aug 5, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Masei | Mattot
The violent and disturbing events of this summer have given me new appreciation for the book of Numbers, and particularly for its conclusion. After chapter upon chapter of intrigue, rebellion, orgy, and mayhem, attention shifts in parashat Masei, the second part of this week’s double parashah, to a series of routine arrangements and details, elaborated at times in rhythmic repetition.
Read More![The Journey or the Destination?](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/anna_serviansky_sq-300x300.jpg)
The Journey or the Destination?
Aug 5, 2016 By Anna Serviansky | Commentary | Masei | Mattot
Life’s like a road that you travel on
When there’s one day here and the next day gone . . .
Read MoreLife is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you’re going my way
I want to drive it all night long
![A New Rabbi in 17th-Century Italy](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/jtslogo_pms173___high_res_square-1-300x300.jpg)
A New Rabbi in 17th-Century Italy
Jul 29, 2016 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Pinehas
Reminded that he will not be permitted to lead the people into the Land of Israel, Moses asks God to appoint a successor for him. God instructs Moses:
Read MoreSingle out Joshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight. Invest him with some of your authority, so that the whole Israelite community may obey. (Num. 27:18–20)
![Dreaming of Being Balaam](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rabbi-Jan-Uhrbach-300x300.jpg)
Dreaming of Being Balaam
Jul 22, 2016 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Balak
The story of the heathen prophet Balaam—hired by Moabite king Balak ben Tzippor to curse the people Israel—is altogether strange. It concerns events happening outside the Israelite camp and seemingly unknown to them, characters we’ve not yet met, and a talking donkey. Its tone ranges from burlesquely funny to surreal.
Read More![Baalam’s Tents](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/lilly_kaufman_900_sq-300x300.jpg)
Baalam’s Tents
Jul 22, 2016 By Lilly Kaufman | Commentary | Balak
Tell me, where can I go today to see a deeply good community? How will I know it when I see it? Where can I go today and exclaim, Mah tovu?
Read More![Courses of Grief](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/shuly_headshot_for_web-300x300.jpg)
Courses of Grief
Jul 15, 2016 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Hukkat
Bereft, I combed through the grass in Central Park at dusk when I realized I had lost my late husband’s house keys. Yes, on some level, I knew it wasn’t about the keys. His sudden death two months earlier had devastated me in much more profound ways. And yet, I felt desperate to find those keys!
Read More![Come and Knock on a Rock](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Lerner_Jonathan-300x300.jpg)
Come and Knock on a Rock
Jul 15, 2016 By Jonathan Lerner | Commentary | Hukkat
John Ritter was ready for a change. “At the beginning of the seventh season [of Three’s Company], the stuff about the three of us scrambling around for rent money was starting to get repetitive. . . . They had an episode about hiding a dog from Mr. Roper in the beginning [during season one] and then they had one about hiding a cat from Mr. Furley near the end [during season eight]. . . . That’s when I knew it was time to move on.”
Read More—Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three’s Company, by Chris Mann
![All–Shall Be–Holy](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/polisson_sq-300x300.png)
All–Shall Be–Holy
Jul 8, 2016 By Louis Polisson | Commentary | Korah
Read MoreThen he took
Perhaps that was the problem
That he took
And didn’t give
![Choosing Your Child?](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/danny_nevins-300x300.jpg)
Choosing Your Child?
Jul 8, 2016 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Korah
“Which do you prefer—your firstborn child, or the five coins required to redeem him?”
This disconcerting question is part of the ritual known as pidyon haben, the redemption of the firstborn son. Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (13th–14th centuries) reports this question as part of the liturgy from the geonic period in his Talmud commentary, and it is duly repeated by his son Rabbi Yakov ben Asher and later codifiers of Jewish law.
Read More![The Gift of Hallah](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/greenvald_cropped-300x300.jpg)
The Gift of Hallah
Jul 1, 2016 By Reuven Greenvald | Commentary | Shelah Lekha
If you’re a hallah baker, like I am, you know that all your measuring, kneading, and hours of checking on rising dough are totally worth it when, after the hamotzi at the Shabbat table, your family and friends let out a collective “aaah.” When that fluffy, sweet piece of bread melts in their mouths, they know it’s really shabbes.
Read More![At the Threshold](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/jtslogo_pms173___high_res_square-300x300.jpg)
At the Threshold
Jul 1, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Shelah Lekha
In this week’s parashah, the Israelites stand at the boundary of the Land of Israel—with all its potential for religious and national destiny and for physical danger—considering whether or not to enter. During the spring 2016 semester, JTS’s own entrance was the location of an art installation by Silvio Wolf, who uses moving images, still projections, light, and sound to engage the history and symbolism of specific venues.
Read More![An All-Too-Easy Transgression](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/leonard_sharzer2.jpg)
An All-Too-Easy Transgression
Jun 24, 2016 By Leonard A. Sharzer | Commentary | Beha'alotekha
The concluding episode of this week’s parashah is one of the most well-known and intriguing stories in the Torah, that of Miriam and Aaron publicly maligning Moses and the consequences thereof. The basic elements of the narrative (Num. 12:1–16) are these: Miriam and Aaron speak out against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he has married, and complain that he is not the only prophet in the family. God has spoken through the two of them, as well. God hears all of this.
Read More![Notifications Now and Then](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tim-Bernard-sq-300x300.png)
Notifications Now and Then
Jun 24, 2016 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Beha'alotekha
How often do we hear this sound, or feel the vibrations of a mobile device demanding our attention? Breaking news, emails, traffic, and game updates—alerts both trivial and critical are brought to us by beeps, bars of music, and buzzes.
Read More![Weekday Shaharit (Lower Voice)](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/jtslogo_pms173___high_res_square-300x300.jpg)
Weekday Shaharit (Lower Voice)
Jun 20, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Prayer Recordings
Recordings by Rabbi and Hazzan Seth Adelson
Project coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich
![Weekday Shaharit (Higher Voice)](https://www.jtsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/jtslogo_pms173___high_res_square-300x300.jpg)
Weekday Shaharit (Higher Voice)
Jun 19, 2016 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Prayer Recordings
Recordings by Cantor Arianne BrownProject coordinator: Rabbi David Freidenreich
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