Sacrifices Seen Through Love and Law

Mar 31, 2012 By David Levy | Commentary | Text Study | Pesah

Every year, the weeks during which the Torah portions of Leviticus are read, many Jews complain about the challenge of finding interest or meaning in such esoteric material. I, myself, also struggle to engage deeply with these texts when I forget that even our ancient Sages felt the need to bolster the relevance of these laws, which largely became defunct after the Second Temple was destroyed.

For Our Students

Mar 31, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol

I got valuable help this year in writing my annual Shabbat Hagadol message to teens and 20-somethings from six teens and 20-somethings who are studying at The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies.

How Now, Brown Cow?

Mar 17, 2012 By Leonard A. Sharzer | Commentary | Pekudei | Shabbat Parah | Vayak-hel

I would like to review several components of the Red Heifer ritual that I find most challenging and ask two questions: (1) Is there any way to understand this arcane ritual that has resonance in modern times?; and (2) Why do we read this passage shortly before Pesah?

Consumption with Humility

Mar 17, 2012 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Text Study | Pekudei | Vayak-hel

“You are what you eat,” as the old adage goes—but according to this midrash, you are also what you build, or more precisely, you are how you build.

Head Covering: An Interreligious Discussion

Mar 11, 2012

Kippot, Hijaabs, Sheitels, and other head coverings. What do different religious head coverings symbolize, how are they all similar, and how are they different?

In Good Taste: American Jews and the Pursuit of Acceptance

Mar 11, 2012

Dr. Jenna Weissman Joselit of George Washington University presents a multimedia lecture on fashion and the Jewish pursuit of acceptance in America. Alana Newhouse, editor-in-chief, Tablet Magazine, will serve as respondent. Part of the What to Wear event held at JTS on March 11th, 2012.

The Naked and the Damned: Stripping in the Bible

Mar 11, 2012 By Lewis Warshauer | Public Event video

Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky and Rabbi Lewis Warshauer examine the image of the body in biblical texts and biblical art. Part of the What to Wear event held at JTS on March 11th, 2012.

Clothing and Adornment: Sartorial Insights on Gender Definition in the Talmud

Mar 11, 2012 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video

How does the Talmud define Gender? Dr. David Kraemer seeks the answer to this question by looking into how the Talmud discussed clothing and adornment.

From Jewess Jeans to Juicy JAPs: Clothing and Jewish Stereotypes

Mar 11, 2012 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Public Event video

When one looks at the way the various Ultra-Orthodox sects of Judaism dress, one can guess that they follow a certain path of Judaism. But, is this same type stereotyping also occur for other Jews and how they dress? How are Jewish stereotypes and clothing related? Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz discusses this at the What to Wear event held at JTS on March 11th, 2012.

Living with the Divine Spirit

Mar 10, 2012 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Ki Tissa

How to blame the Israelites for the Golden Calf episode, when it seems that all they want to do is create something holy?

The Voice From the Burning Bush

Mar 10, 2012 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Ki Tissa

Moses heard God’s voice as his own; each of us hears God’s voice as our own, hearing what we need to hear from the thunderous words of revelation that are each of ours and yet so difficult to discern.

A Threefold Method of Biblical Interpretation

Mar 3, 2012 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Shabbat Zakhor | Tetzavveh

Why are these two seemingly unrelated matters—the law against harboring dishonest weights, on the one hand, and the exhortation to “remember” Amalek’s treachery, on the other—juxtaposed?

Remembering to Forget

Mar 3, 2012 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Shabbat Zakhor

How does one recall something that we are ultimately supposed to forget? That is one of the great paradoxes found in the Torah reading for Shabbat Zakhor and later reflected in a rabbinic tradition that stems from the midrash above.

Bringing God into Our Classrooms and Communities

Feb 25, 2012 By Jonathan Lipnick | Commentary | Terumah

Although this week’s parashah focuses mostly on architectural plans, there is significant, inspiring Torah about community building and even classroom dynamics.

Of Willing Heart

Feb 25, 2012 By David Levy | Commentary | Text Study | Terumah

God seems not to be seeking out the work alone, but more the voluntary offering. I find this to be incredibly encouraging.

Standing with Moses on the Mountaintop

Feb 18, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Mishpatim | Shabbat Shekalim

Readers of Mishpatim cannot fail to be struck by the contrast between the main body of the parashah and its conclusion. The former consists for the most part of rather dry case law, covering such things as goring oxen, robbery by day and by night, and release from indentured servitude. The end of the parashah could not be more different in subject and tone.

Debtors to God

Feb 18, 2012 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Text Study | Mishpatim

This week’s midrash provides a striking metaphor for the nature of our existence in the world. Like the destitute person who has given his only garment as collateral on a loan, we are often destitute in our moral stature. We make mistakes, error, and sin. According to the midrash, every evening God takes our souls as we sleep as collateral for the spiritual debts we owe. And every morning, in spite of our failings, our souls are returned to us.