91快活林

Remembering Our Sacred Spaces

Feb 19, 2021 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Shabbat Zakhor | Terumah

On Shabbat Zakhor鈥攖he Shabbat of remembering鈥攚e recall the Amalekites鈥� vicious attack on the Israelites in the desert, in which they targeted not the fighters but the weaker members of the community (Deut. 25:17鈥�19). This year, however, I suspect many of us will be focused instinctively on remembering something else: the anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic turning our lives upside down.

Restoring Balance: Exploring an Ancient Paradigm for Moving Beyond Our Mistakes

Sep 14, 2020 By Julia Andelman | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement鈥攜et the concept of atonement itself is rarely explored. The text of themahzor(High Holiday prayerbook) asks God to 鈥渇orgive us, pardon us, grant usatonement鈥濃�攂ut how is atonement distinct from forgiveness and pardon?Through an examination of biblical and rabbinic sources, we will learn how our ancestorsinterpretedthe concept ofkapparah,atonement, and the great power it held in their understanding ofhowhuman beings鈥攆lawed in our very nature鈥攃ancarry on in theworldafter we have sinned.

The Value of Doubt

Oct 4, 2019 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Shabbat Shuvah | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

The more one invests in trying to have a meaningful and genuine High Holiday prayer experience, the more one stands to lose if the words of the mahzor fall short of one鈥檚 aspirations. The mahzor is conceptually and theologically dense. If one takes the time to meditate upon the assertions of the prayers as they go by, one is sure to eventually encounter a text that rings false, problematic, or even alienating.

When Buildings Fall

Sep 28, 2018 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Sukkot

From my childhood perspective growing up in an apartment building in suburban Boston, having a sukkah was a symbol of arrival鈥攁nd our family didn鈥檛 have one. Most of our friends lived in private homes, and so, with a mixture of enjoyment and jealousy, we traipsed all around town to have our yom tov meals in other people鈥檚 sukkot.

Kashrut and Refugees

Feb 9, 2018 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Mishpatim

There鈥檚 an old joke based on the three appearances of the commandment 鈥淵ou shall not boil a kid in its mother鈥檚 milk鈥濃�攖he first being in this week鈥檚 parashah, Mishpatim (Exod. 23:19). The narrow prohibition against 鈥渆ating the flesh of an animal together with the milk that was meant to sustain it鈥� (Etz Hayim, 474) was expanded over time into a vast array of laws regarding the separation of all dairy and all meat.

Lighting Up the Dark Days

Dec 11, 2017 By Julia Andelman | Short Video | Hanukkah

Leftover Scraps

May 5, 2017 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim | Shavuot

The Torah exhorts us in this week鈥檚 parashah: 鈥淲hen you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest鈥�you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger鈥� (Lev. 19:9-10). This mitzvah plays out in beautiful narrative form in the Book of Ruth, read on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot. But Ruth is the exception; she is rescued from her destitute state by Boaz, the owner of the field where she gleans, who marries her. What of all those who remained gleaners鈥攚hose survival depended on the daily toil of gathering other people鈥檚 leftovers?

The Emergence of Praise

Dec 9, 2016 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Vayetzei

Our parashah begins with Jacob鈥檚 profound, life-changing encounter with divinity: his dream of the ladder; his vision of God promising that his descendants will multiply and be blessed; and his vow that 鈥渋f God remains with me鈥�the Lord shall be my God鈥� (Gen. 28:20-21). But our parashah includes another profound, life-changing moment of connecting to God鈥攁 less famous one鈥攅xperienced by Leah. After giving birth to three sons and naming each of them in accordance with aspects of her life experience, Leah gives birth again and says hapa鈥檃m odeh et Adonai (Gen. 29:35)鈥攖his time I will praise/thank/acknowledge the Lord鈥攁nd names her son Judah (Yehudah, from odeh).

Is This the Fast I Desire?

Oct 11, 2016 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Yom Kippur

When I was a congregational rabbi, my practice was to offer a sermon on Yom Kippur morning relating to social justice. I would raise an issue of ethical concern in the world; share my reading of what Jewish texts and tradition had to say on the matter; and suggest actions for individuals and for the community.

Judah鈥檚 Story, Our Stories, and the Stories of Refugees

Dec 17, 2015 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Vayiggash

They grabbed me and led me to a van. I told them: 鈥業鈥檓 an old man. I鈥檓 not a threat.鈥� But they didn鈥檛 listen. On our way to the prison, they kept stopping on the street and collecting more people. They blindfolded me when we arrived and they beat me very badly. Then they put me with seventy other people in a room smaller than this one. It was very cold because it was December and I was barefoot because I鈥檇 lost my slippers. 

Conquering Our Anger

Aug 31, 2015 By Julia Andelman | Short Video | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

Outside the Camp

Apr 24, 2015 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Metzora | Tazria

The double parashah of Tazria-Metzora ranks at the top of the list of parshiyot to avoid for a bar or bat mitzvah. Its detailed lists of bodily ailments鈥攔ashes, colorations, emissions, and secretions鈥攁ssociated with ritual impurity are not the stuff of religious inspiration in contemporary times. I confess to having once colluded with congregants to subtly move the date of their daughter鈥檚 bat mitzvah celebration slightly further away from her Hebrew birthday, in order to provide her with a more palatable Torah reading  to chant and speak about than Tazria-Metzora. But this year鈥攖he year of #BlackLivesMatter鈥攈as caused me to read Tazria-Metzora through a new and painfully relevant lens. 

The Blessing of a Sister

Jun 27, 2014 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Hukkat

Among the many momentous events that occur in this week鈥檚 short but action-packed parashah, we read of the deaths of both of Moses鈥檚 siblings, Miriam and Aaron.

The Right Answers For The Wrong Questions

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

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.

Divine Compassion

Dec 27, 2013 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Va'era

The biblical book that we began last week鈥擲hemot鈥攊s known in English as Exodus, a name that highlights one of the key dramatic episodes of the book.

In Search of God

Oct 29, 2013 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Toledot

Through the unexpected and serendipitous Shabbat meal invitations that often seem to come about when one is studying in Jerusalem, I found myself many years ago sitting at the festive Shabbat table of an ultra-Orthodox family one autumn Friday night.