Caring for Our Parents
May 9, 2009 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim
The third verse of Parashat K’doshim says, “Ish imo v’aviv tira’u” (One should revere his mother and father) (Lev. 19:3). The same mandate appears twice as the fifth commandment, “Kabed et avikha v’et imekha” (Honor your father and your mother) (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). Honoring parents was considered a virtue in the Roman world. Parents took care of their children, and children were expected to return the favor when parents grew old. But Rome did not create a legal obligation to care for parents, and a child who refused to do so could not be compelled by the courts.
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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 Treasure of Inner Wisdom
May 5, 2012 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim
The very sage pediatrician who examined my newborn son, my firstborn, asked me what his temperament is like. My husband and I exchanged looks, and out poured our utter dismay at how to handle our colicky little treasure. I will never forget the doctor’s words of advice: You know what to do. Listen to your gut instincts. You are already wise.
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Healthy (and Maybe Even Holy) Ambivalence
Apr 24, 2010 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim
Building identity is complicated and sometimes painful work. This is true both on an individual level and when it comes to nations. What makes thinking about identity even more complicated is the fact that identity is really never completely “formed.” Sure, a national identity should have core commitments. But I would suggest that we shift our understanding of identity from something that is fixed to a subjective process by which one group comes to recognize itself as being different from other groups. Understood in these terms, identity is dynamic—always emerging and continually being transformed over time.
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The Kosher Golden Rule
Apr 25, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Kedoshim
Two great questions are often asked in our community: What is our obligation to our fellow Jews?
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Embracing Life in the Face of Death
Apr 17, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim | Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzma'ut
This past week, we commemorated State of Israel Memorial Day (Yom Hazikkaron) and State of Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzma’ut). The juxtaposition of these two observances is jarring. Living in Israel, one feels how mourning permeates every moment of Yom Hazikkaron: from the piercing siren that sounds around the entire country at 8:00 p.m. to the mournful songs played on Israeli radio; from the Yizkor (memorial service) stickers with the Israeli plant known as dam hamakabim (the blood of the Maccabees) to the throngs of Israeli citizens flooding Mount Herzl Cemetery. At the close of this sobering day, transition ceremonies give way to the festivities of Yom Ha’azma’ut: fireworks decorate the night sky and festive barbeques fill the landscape of every square meter of Israeli parks.
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In the Wake of Tragedy
Apr 28, 2007 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim
In the immediate wake of tragedy, our response is appropriately silence. Aaron movingly illustrated this in the parashah from two weeks ago after he lost his sons, Nadav and Avihu. Following their shocking deaths, the Torah records Aaron’s response to Moses’ attempt at consolation simply as, “and Aaron was silent” (Leviticus 10:3). We cannot begin to imagine the sense of loss and disbelief that radiated from the depths of his soul when he learned his sons were destroyed by the God who ordained their service.
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The Saint and the Zohar
May 1, 2015 By Vivian B. Mann <em>z”l</em> | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim
We often think of Jewish life in Spain in terms of the massacres of 1391 and the Spanish Expulsion in 1492. But the art made for the Church between those two dates presents a more nuanced view of Christian–Jewish relations.
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