Men And Women: In The Kitchen And At The Seder

Apr 8, 2014 By Judith Hauptman | Short Video | Pesah

The Right Answers For The Wrong Questions

Apr 8, 2014 By Julia Andelman | Short Video | Pesah

The Gefilte Fish On My Seder Plate

Apr 8, 2014 By Anne Lapidus Lerner | Short Video | Pesah

Sharing Blessings For The Afikoman

Apr 8, 2014 By Lisa Gelber | Short Video | Pesah

Breath of Life—Night or Morning

Apr 3, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

The journey through the Passover seder is beloved by many households and communities that gather together. While the meal itself is a feast, the Aggadah, the telling of the story that comes before it, is a rich and multifaceted experience that brings together text and song, classic primary sources, modern interpretations, and personal experience.

Boundaries: Not Only Healthy, but Divine

Apr 3, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Metzora

Boundaries are the focal point of Parashat Metzora, and indeed they are the obsession of the book of Leviticus.

Paying Attention to Our Bodies and Ourselves

Apr 3, 2014 By William Friedman | Commentary | Metzora

What are the rituals that help us transition from one experience to another?

Elijah—Families and the End of Days

Mar 27, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Pesah

Elijah is an enigmatic and beloved figure in the Passover seder, with a myriad of explanations for his appearance and role. It’s worth noting that Elijah appears first in our liturgical texts even before we sit down to begin the seder: the haftarah for Shabbat Hagadol (the Shabbat before Pesah) is from the end of Malachi, and concludes with the haunting words, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of Adonai; and he will return the hearts of parents to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents.”

Parashat Tazria and Circumcision

Mar 26, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tazria

Parashat Tazria, at the heart of the book of Leviticus, presents a challenge of almost epic proportions in the search for modern, practical relevance.

Time and Eternity on Shabbat Morning (Part 2)

Mar 19, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Here is a parable for worship from the experience of my wife, a management consultant. A professor comes into class at Harvard Business School with a glass bucket, which he places on the desk. He then takes some large rocks from under the desk, places as many of them in the bucket as will fit, and asks the class if the bucket is full. The students (of course) reply that it is. He then takes out some pebbles and pours them into the bucket until it overflows, and, upon being questioned, the students again affirm the bucket is full. A bag of sand is then procured and poured into the bucket, followed by the same question, and finally water—each of these examples drawing some suspicion and hesitancy from the students. The class is then asked the point of this exercise, and a couple of bright ones who have read The One Minute Manager reply that it’s always possible to squeeze a little more into the day, to achieve one more small task. The professor replies, “The only way to get the big rocks in is to put them in first.”

Enthusiastic and Committed Judaism

Mar 19, 2014 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Shemini

When my husband and I named our first son Nadav, we knew that we would have some explaining to do.

Silence and Loss

Mar 18, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shemini

One of the most enigmatic and painful moments of all of Tanakh occurs in Parashat Shemini.

Time and Eternity in Shabbat Services (Part 1)

Mar 11, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

I remember well a warning from one of my teachers in rabbinical school (for me, the Leo Baeck College in London). We were discussing Shabbat morning services, and the warning was to young(ish) rabbis and rabbinical students that if we “indulge ourselves too greatly in liturgy, the result will be that the ovens of our congregants will come to be the homes of a new generation of burnt offerings.” The message was quite clear that these burnt offerings would be desirable neither to our congregants nor to God.

The Fire Within

Mar 11, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav

Parashat Tzav discusses the role of the priests in the Temple, and emphasizes the vigilance with which they were to offer sacrifices.

Purim Reversals

Mar 11, 2014 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Purim

A few months after college graduation, I arrived in Israel as an eager new yeshiva student.

“Light and Dark, Peace and . . . ?”

Mar 5, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Many regular shul-goers are familiar with the two blessings that precede the Shema’ in the morning service (whether on a weekday, Shabbat, or Festival). The first (Yotzer) addresses God’s role in the natural cycles of creation and the physical world, and the second (Ahavah Rabbah) speaks of God’s love for Israel, manifested in the gift of Torah. After the opening blessing formula, Yotzer continues, “yotzer or u-vorei choshech, oseh shalom u-vorei et ha-kol” (God forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates everything; Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat, 107). The text has a poetic balance and engages with familiar metaphors; it is no surprise to learn that this line is based upon Isaiah, as much of the text of the siddur is based upon biblical sources and allusions.