A Shared Responsibility

Aug 1, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Devarim

This coming Shabbat, we begin the fifth and final book of Torah as we read Parashat Devarim, the opening of the book of Deuteronomy.

The View From the Other Side

Aug 1, 2014 By Stephen P. Garfinkel | Commentary | Devarim

Is the author of this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Devarim, or the author of the entire book of Devarim (Deuteronomy, the last of the five books of the Torah), not paying attention?

At Home, Running for Cover

Jul 25, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Masei

The past month has been a time of great emotion and tension for those of us living in Israel. From the moment that Naftali Fraenkel (z”l), Gilad Sha’ar (z”l), and Eyal Yifrach (z”l) were kidnapped, there was a sense of foreboding that overtook the country.

Life’s Journeys

Jul 25, 2014 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Masei

In a few weeks, thousands of US high school students will leave home to begin college or a gap year of study and/or service before entering college.

Our Prayers for Israel—For Whom Is the Message?

Jul 24, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

A serious challenge confronting the all-too-human venture of praying to God is in working out what we can say to the “One Who knows all.” A prayer for a congregation to recite in the face of destructive storms might open with the words, “God, we stand before you in time of peril”—but if God truly knows all, might we not assume that God is well aware of the peril facing the community?

Binding and Releasing

Jul 18, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Mattot

At the very beginning of Parashat Mattot, the topic of words and vows is addressed.

The Power of Words

Jul 18, 2014 By Eliezer B. Diamond | Commentary | Mattot | Yom Kippur

Are words important? This is a question that bedevils us as human beings.

Melody or Discord

Jul 18, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

There is a parable that speaks of a village that once had a renowned orchestra that played beautiful music at set times in the presence of the king, bringing delight both to the musicians and their ruler, who rewarded the musicians generously for their artistry and commitment. As time passed, the original musicians grew old and their place was taken by others who were not quite so gifted, drawn perhaps by the exalted audience and generous reward.

The Importance of Constructive Action

Jul 11, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Pinehas

Recall the troubling and cryptic episode at the conclusion of last week’s parashah: the Israelites encamp at Shittim; they are seduced by Moabite women and attach themselves to an idolatrous cult of Ba‘al Pe‘or.

Doing Violence for God

Jul 11, 2014 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Pinehas

What are we to think about Pinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the high priest, after whom this week’s Torah portion is named?

Always Strive to Be Israel

Jul 4, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Balak

This week’s Torah reading, Parashat Balak, is primarily focused on the Moabite king’s efforts to curse the Israelites.

“How Are the Mighty [Innocent] Fallen?”

Jul 4, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

In the elegy of David for Saul and his beloved Jonathan, the Hebrew words “Eikh naflu gibborim” (2 Sam. 1:17) carry a wordless cry and howl of anguish not rendered by the translation “How are the mighty fallen?” Professor Francis Landy of the University of Alberta notes that the first word, Eikh, most of all, is onomatopoeic. Eikh is a primal groan, howl, or keening; it is giving sound to inner pain and desolation, a sound of agony that comes in the immediacy of loss, ripped from the heart and soul. It is a sound that comes before the poem of lament, the words that try to give form and focus to raw emotion and pain.

Between Cursing and Blessing, Peace and Truth

Jul 4, 2014 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Balak

That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. And God was very angry when he went. (Num. 22:20–22)

Moses’s Misstep: Words Not Deeds

Jun 27, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Hukkat

With the loss of both Miriam and Aaron, Parashat Hukkat marks a liminal and tragic point in the Israelite wanderings toward the Land of Israel.

Yearning: Poetry and Prayer

Jun 27, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Psalm 42 offers an extraordinary journey through the life of the soul, and perhaps it is not by chance that traces of this psalm are found in various places in the liturgy. In a previous essay, we looked a little at poetry within the liturgy, and the way in which poetry can open channels and modes of expression not so easily found in plain narrative text. Poetry offers the chance to juxtapose images and invoke diverse metaphors that can point toward a deeper, even implicit or secret, meaning.