JTS Torah Archive

The Directed Life

Jun 4, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bemidbar

Order is critical to the establishment of a just and productive society. It is no wonder then that the book of B’midbar details the meticulous arrangement of the Israelite encampment. Numbers 2:2 instructs, “the Israelites shall camp each with his standard, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting.” The parashah then continues to list the exact placement of each tribe in relation to each other. Given this attention to organization in the Israelite camp, one might expect the journey through the desert to move along flawlessly. Yet, more than any other book of Torah, B’midbar attests to the waywardness of the Israelites. How could a people blessed with Torah, the details of the sacred service of God, and now the precise map of their camp – all designed to create an orderly and meaningful society – devolve into such chaotic ways?

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister…”

May 28, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Behukkotai

This past Sunday, New York Jewry greeted the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, at a Leadership Assembly at Baruch College sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and United Jewish Communities.

A Bridge Between Heaven and Earth

May 28, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Behukkotai

Fertility of humans and of the land is the essence of divine blessing. It is the theme of the first commandment of Torah – to be fruitful and multiply – the sacred wish of each ancestral pair in their desire to see the next generation, and the divine promise for the loyal observance of mitzvot. Parashat B’hukkotai opens in this vein, with a condition and the promise of God’s blessing. The two opening verses of ourparashah speak of the harmony between heaven and earth, the bridges between the two, and the necessity for each of us to view ourselves as a sacred link.

The Sabbatical Year

May 19, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Behar

The DNA of Judaism is the number seven.

Claiming Our Spiritual Freedom

May 14, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Emor

The laws of the Torah are rooted in the exodus from Egypt.

The Truth about the Exodus

Apr 30, 2005 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Pesah

This past December, I went with my wife and two adult children on a family vacation to Egypt.

Elijah the Prophet

Apr 23, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol

The Shabbat just prior to Passover is known as the Great Sabbath, Shabbat ha–Gadol. It is not one of the four special Sabbaths that span the month of Adar to herald the coming of Passover (Shekalim, Zakhor, Parah and ha–Hodesh).

Pesah: The Great Redemption

Apr 23, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Shabbat Hagadol

The Shabbat just prior to Passover is known as the Great Sabbath, Shabbat HaGadol.

The Theology of the Jewish Calendar

Apr 9, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Hahodesh | Pesah

With Shabbat ha-Hodesh, we are just two weeks away from the first seder. Passover does not usually fall this late in April. A leap year accounts for its delay. In the Jewish calendar, unlike the secular one, a leap year consists of adding an extra month, and there are seven such leap years within every cycle of nineteen years. The month that is doubled is Adar, the last month of the year, the one in which we celebrate Purim. Hence, in a leap year, Purim comes in the second Adar (adar sheni) and Passover, thirty one-days later.

God As a Tragic Character

Apr 2, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Parah | Shemini

Ours is not the first generation to discover that we live in an imperfect world.

The Power of the Mind Over Reality

Mar 25, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Tzav

Judaism is a choir of many voices.

Leadership in Revelation

Mar 19, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayikra

Modernity erupted in Jewish history in 1782 in the garb of midrash.

The Key to Salvation

Feb 26, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Ki Tissa

The jarring truth about the episode of the golden calf is that it occurred at Mount Sinai.

Why Jews Light Candles

Feb 19, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Tetzavveh

Judaism is hard to imagine without candles.

The Grandeur and Grace in Our Lives

Feb 12, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Terumah

In Hebrew it is customary not to pronounce the name of God as written.

Reverence for Contradictory Texts

Feb 5, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Mishpatim | Shabbat Shekalim

Sometimes the smallest of words contains the largest of meanings.

Society and the Stranger

Feb 5, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Mishpatim

The Power to Serve

Jan 29, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Yitro

Judaism is an elaborate way of relating to God as the source of existence and the provider of ultimate meaning.

Accounting for God’s Silence

Jan 22, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Beshallah

In his utterly engrossing autobiography, A Tale of Love and Darkness, which came out in Hebrew in 2002, Amos Oz describes the elderly maidservant in the home of his maternal grandparents in Ukraine as being stone deaf.

Preparing to Hear

Jan 8, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'era

Last week’s parashah, Sh’mot, closes on a discouraging note. Having remained loyal to the command of God, Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh conveying the word of God, “Let My people go…” In rage and defiance, Pharaoh not only denies the request, but further embitters the lives of the Israelites as he refuses to provide straw for the slaves. They must now break their backs gathering materials to make the same quota of bricks as before. Though lifted by a moment of hope upon hearing that God had taken note of their plight, the Israelites now become impatient and enraged, even skeptical of Moses’ message. After being reproached by a group of Israelites, Moses turns to God asks candidly, “Why did You bring harm upon this people?” This week’s parashah, Parashat Va–era, opens in a moment of prophetic frustration and divine assurance.