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The Torah’s Lessons for Building Communities
May 31, 2008 By Charles Savenor | Commentary | Bemidbar
Bemidbar, the fourth book of the Torah, opens with a demographic and geographic description of the Children of Israel.
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The Torah’s Lessons for Society
May 25, 2008 By Edward Feld | Commentary | Behukkotai
The concluding parashah of Leviticus, Behukkotai, centers on God’s enumeration of both blessing and curse—the blessings that will follow upon observance of the commandments and the curses that will result from violation of the commandments.
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Our Partnership with God
May 16, 2008 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Behar
Almost a year after the twenty-fifth anniversary, with current showings on TV Land promising the version with enhanced visual effects, never-before-seen footage, and a digitally remastered soundtrack, as well as videos and DVDs for watching at home whenever you wish, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial is a part of the cinematic culture of many more people than just the moviegoers of the early 1980s.
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Our Influence on God
May 10, 2008 By David M. Ackerman | Commentary | Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzma'ut
At the geographic heart of Parashat Emor lies a seemingly innocuous statement: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: These are My fixed times, the fixed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions (Leviticus 23:1–2).”
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A Jewish-Buddhist Understanding of Holiness
May 3, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Kedoshim
Leon Wieseltier, in a recent column in The New Republic about diversity at Harvard, commented about the church bells he heard growing up on Avenue O.
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The Four Children
Apr 19, 2008 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Pesah
We are told to probe the narrative of the redemption from Egypt for insights about what is blocking redemption in our own day and how we can work to bring ultimate redemption into being. The question facing us as we approach the seder, then, is this: What shall we tell our children and grandchildren at Passover—particularly the teenagers, college students, and twenty-somethings who are gathered at the seder table?
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Finding Holiness Through Boundaries
Apr 12, 2008 By David M. Ackerman | Commentary | Metzora
The Book of Vayikra concerns itself with a truly interesting collection of topics, among them animal sacrifice, priestly behavior, food, skin diseases, and blood.
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The Role of Religious Leaders
Mar 29, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Shemini
In an email newsletter distributed by the Martin Marty Center Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago, Martin E. Marty, a prominent voice of religion in America, recently commented on a new book about the role of preachers in politics.
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How Worship Might Shape Our Minds
Mar 22, 2008 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Tzav
Even after years of probing Leviticus for insight, and each year finding more significance in the book’s attempt to sanctify everyday experience, I found myself captured by Douglas’s description of the Levitical system of animal offerings as “philosophizing by sacrifice.” She writes: “Not only in ancient Israel, but in many parts of the world, philosophizing by sacrifice can be quite paradoxical and abstruse.”
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Between Prophets and Priests
Mar 15, 2008 By Edward Feld | Commentary | Vayikra
The relation with God is fraught with uncertainty and doubt.
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Between the Fire and the Cloud
Mar 2, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Pekudei | Shabbat Shekalim
As we conclude the book of Exodus and wander further into the wilderness, I cannot help but wonder how different the children of Israel’s lives would have been if they had been equipped with GPS.
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The Challenge of Finding Balance
Mar 1, 2008 By David M. Ackerman | Commentary | Vayak-hel
If intricate descriptions of construction details capture your imagination, then Va-yakhel is your parashah!
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Listening: The Cornerstone of Leadership
Feb 23, 2008 By Charles Savenor | Commentary | Ki Tissa
In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa, the Children of Israel stand at a crossroads between faith and fear, commitment and rebellion.
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Dressing to Lead
Feb 16, 2008 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Tetzavveh
Which candidate looks most presidential? Sadly, this question often determines our votes.
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Football’s Spiritual Prowess
Feb 9, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Terumah
It was a demonstration of will; nothing short of unbridled desire to succeed led the Giants to their Superbowl victory over a nearly perfect Patriots team that will be remembered favorably by history.
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Nostalgia, Memory and the Building of Judaism
Jan 26, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Yitro
As is often the case with buildings in Lower Manhattan, 211 Pearl Street was caught in the sights of a developer seeking to level the property and replace it with a grand modern building.
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The Power of Collective Prayer
Jan 19, 2008 By Edward Feld | Commentary | Beshallah
There are powerful moments when a community comes together, moments in which each individual feels his or her energy directed to common purpose.
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Lighting the Darkness
Jan 11, 2008 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Bo
It’s difficult not to notice darkness at this time of year; so many of us set out for work in the dark and leave our places of business long after the sun has set.
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The Lessons of Va-era
Jan 5, 2008 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Va'era
This week’s parashah abounds in venerable theological problems, beginning with its name and opening verses. How could it be that God “appeared” to the ancestors but that some aspect of God—or some truth articulated in God’s name—was not “made known” to them and will be revealed only now, to Moses? The answer that seems most persuasive to me bears a lesson that, like so many others in the Torah, is not so much theological as ethical; it teaches far less about the nature of God than it does about human responsibility.
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The Attention Seeking Bush
Dec 29, 2007 By David M. Ackerman | Commentary | Shemot
A recent collection of one-liners and witticisms entitled 1,003 Great Things About Being Jewishcontains a section called “What Passersby Said About the Burning Bush.”
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