91快活林

An Anthology of Beginnings

Oct 13, 2023 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Commentary | Bereishit

The Torah seems to begin twice, in a way not paralleled by any other creation narrative from the ancient Near East. It uses the conventions of ancient literature in a new way. By beginning twice, the Torah announces what sort of a work it intends to be: it is less a book than an anthology, a compendium of numerous viewpoints and competing teachings.

Dancing with Torah

Oct 6, 2023 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Simhat Torah

Judaism鈥檚 richness comes from having two Torahs鈥攖he Written Torah [Torah shebikhtav], which Moses receives from God, and which we will soon celebrate on Simhat Torah,and the Oral Torah [Torah shebe鈥檃l peh], the Torah of commentary that extends from the ancient rabbis to today鈥檚 rabbis, scholars, and students of Judaism鈥檚 sacred texts and traditions.

Why We Gather

Sep 29, 2023 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Sukkot

This past motzei Shabbat marked 38 weeks since the demonstrations in Israel against the judicial overhaul began. Once again my social media accounts lit up with photos of the streets of Tel Aviv engulfed in crowds, powerful images of democracy in action. I find the sight of so many people gathering to be awe-inspiring and uplifting, and in a ceremony associated with the holiday of Sukkot, I have found some clues as to why witnessing and joining such gatherings can be so moving.

How Shall It End?

Sep 26, 2023 By Gordon Tucker | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Shemini Atzeret

The Torah presents Shemini Atzeret鈥攖he 鈥淓ighth Day of Assembly鈥濃�攁s an add-on to the seven days of the Sukkot pilgrimage festival. The lulav is set aside, and the sukkah vacated. So, is it a 鈥渉oliday about nothing鈥�? Or can we see in it a most meaningful coda to the Days of Awe, in which we learn profound lessons about endings? Through a close reading of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), the Yizkor prayer, and other significant texts, we explore answers to these questions.

Weren鈥檛 We Just Forgiven?

Sep 22, 2023 By Joel Seltzer | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah

On all other days, this blessing is a powerful reminder of the countless missteps that befall us every day of our lives. And each day, by asking God for forgiveness, we are being conscious and intentional about the types of people we wish to be. We recount鈥攖hen we recommit. But on motzei Yom Kippur, this blessing makes little sense. Is it possible that I committed a sin in the last thirty seconds since the gates closed at the end of the Ne鈥檌lah service? Shouldn鈥檛 this be my most blameless moment of the entire year, and yet, here I am, beating my breast and beseeching God for forgiveness yet again?

The Yom Kippur Avodah as a Template for Spiritual Practice

Sep 19, 2023 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Yom Kippur

It is generally thought that the Yom Kippur Haftarah taken from Isaiah is supposed to be read as being in tension with the Torah reading from Aharei Mot(Leviticus 16). While the Torah reading focuses almost exclusively on the rites performed by the High Priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur, Isaiah declaims that the ritual piety without social justice and Shabbat observance is nothing more than worthless hypocrisy.

While this observation has merit, it can encourage the view that ritual has no ethical or spiritual content. In this session we see that the Avodah, the Temple rites, can indeed serve as a model for a life of spiritual discipline.

Clay in the Potter鈥檚 Hand

Sep 15, 2023 By Joel Seltzer | Commentary | Yom Kippur

Several years back, my wife and I took a summer vacation on Block Island, a 17-mile sanctuary of beaches, water, and biking off the southern coast of Rhode Island. We checked into a lovely bed and breakfast and made our way down the path towards our secluded beach cottage. The room was tiny, but a […]

The Torah鈥檚 Stories鈥攁nd Our Own

Sep 15, 2023 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah

During these Yamim Noraim鈥攖hese Days of Awe鈥攚e might expect to be poring over biblical texts that exhort us to act honestly, compassionately, and justly: the Ten Commandments perhaps, or the Holiness Code of Leviticus 19. Instead, the Torah portions we read as we usher in the New Year are stories that are filled with unbearable pain鈥攆irst, in Genesis 21, Abraham banishes his wife Hagar and their son Ishmael, and then, in Genesis 22, he almost sacrifices his son Isaac. As we gather to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, why do we hear stories that are filled with themes of alienation, betrayal, and loss?

The Sacrifices of Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac

Sep 12, 2023 By Aaron Koller | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Vayera | Rosh Hashanah

In the Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah, we read about the dissolution of Abraham鈥檚 family. First Ishmael is banished and nearly dies in the desert; Hagar leaves the household where she has lived for decades; and finally God commands Abraham to sacrifice his remaining son, Isaac. How do these stories come together, and how do they contribute to the 鈥榖iography鈥� of the first patriarch? We see how these linked narratives develop some of the themes of Genesis鈥攁nd why they are appropriate for the New Year.

After Dobbs: Jewish Advocacy for Abortion Rights

Sep 11, 2023 By 91快活林 | Public Event video

The Bernard G. Segal Memorial Lecture in Law and Ethics The U.S. Supreme Court overturned 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion in June 2022. Since the landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health, many states have banned or severely limited abortion access, leading the Jewish community to become increasingly involved in advocacy efforts […]

Returning with God

Sep 8, 2023 By Mychal Springer | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh

This week鈥檚 Torah Portion, Nitzavim, speaks profoundly aboutteshuvah, the literal and figurative struggle to return to God. When we turn back to God 鈥渨ith all [our] heart and soul,鈥� the parashah tells us, then God 鈥渨ill bring you together again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you鈥�(Deut 30:3). Being scattered is a state of disorientation and disconnection.Teshuvahrepresents a coming home.

The Torah of the New Year

Sep 6, 2023 By 91快活林 | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Shemini Atzeret | Yom Kippur

Join 91快活林 faculty for a close reading of several of the biblical texts that we read during the fall holiday season. Discover new insights into these readings and reflect on what meanings they hold for us today.

Exile and Return as a Spiritual Paradigm

Sep 6, 2023 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

The haftarot of the High Holidays link personal teshuvah with the return to the land of Israel. When we hold these two returnings together the spiritual and communal dimensions of teshuvah come into powerful focus. We explore the exiles of our soul and pathways of return in this season of teshuvah.

What It Means to Enjoy

Sep 1, 2023 By Alan Cooper | Commentary | Ki Tavo

In Deuteronomy, the Torah commands us no fewer than eight times to 鈥渞ejoice鈥� in the fulfillment of religious obligations.Two of those occurrences are in this week鈥檚 parashah. The first comes after bringing first fruits to the sanctuary and thanking God for the harvest: And you shall enjoy all the goodness (vesamahta bekhol hatov) that Adonai your God has bestowed upon you and your household, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst.

Teki’ot Suite for Shofar and Trumpet

Aug 28, 2023 By 91快活林 | Short Video | Rosh Hashanah

H.L. Miller Cantorial Student Justin Pellis (’25) asked himself, “How can I approach the Shofar in a new way?” To answer, he composed “Te’kiot for Shofar and Trumpet” which debuted last fall and we are pleased to share in preparation for Yamim Noraim.

Do Not Turn Away鈥擳hen and Now

Aug 25, 2023 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Ki Tetzei

In 1861, as a great conflagration spread across our nation, the Bostonian abolitionist and women鈥檚 rights advocate Samuel Joseph May published a slender tract entitledThe Fugitive Slave Act and Its Victims, an impassioned polemic against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This federal law, born of the Missouri Compromise of the same year, required all federal, state, and local authorities, including those in free states, to return fugitive slaves to their masters, while also criminalizing any attempt to aid and abet a slave seeking to escape bondage. May, a Unitarian pastor, thought it fitting鈥攁nd rightly so鈥攖o grace the tract鈥檚 title page with the King James translation of Deuteronomy 23:16鈥�17, which I cite here using the JPS translation: 鈥淵ou shall not turn over to his master a slave who seeks refuge with you from his master. He shall live with you in any place that he may choose among the settlements in your midst, wherever he pleases; you must not ill-treat him.鈥�

Who Are You to Judge?

Aug 18, 2023 By Ellie Gettinger | Commentary | Shofetim

Writing about Shofetim (Judges) feels like too much at this particular moment, when the judiciary of both the United States and Israel are beset by challenges. In Israel, judicial reform pursued by the ruling party is shifting the balance of powers, pushing Israeli society to a schism. In the US, questions of judicial ethics are at the forefront. What does it mean to have a lifetime appointment, and what is the line between friendship and bribery? Shofetim positions the need for righteous people to preside over courts while acknowledging the ever-present challenge human nature presents to this ideal.

Can Institutions Be Nimble? Community Organizing in Tumultuous Times

Aug 14, 2023 By Stephanie Ruskay | Public Event video | Video Lecture

It鈥檚 human nature to build and rebuild, organize and disorganize. Institutions both large and small are grappling with the challenging tasks of shaping the present and future.Rabbi StephanieRuskay, Associate Dean of The Rabbinical School, 91快活林,will lead us in a process of exploring communal narratives and asking provocative questions thathelp us discover solutions.

To Know or Not to Know

Aug 11, 2023 By Malka Strasberg Edinger | Commentary | Re'eh | Tishah Be'av

The centralization of cultic worship is one of the major themes in the book of Deuteronomy. However, the place of that worship, the Temple, is described as 鈥渢he place that God will choose,鈥� with no mention of where that place is to exist. This week鈥檚 parashah, parashat Re鈥檈h, introduces the theme that once in the Land of Israel, the Israelites are to worship their God in 鈥渉amakom asher yivhar Hashem鈥� (the place that God will choose). This vague phraseology, which only alludes to a specific place but does not specify where that place is, is repeated 21 times throughout the book of Deuteronomy, with 16 of those occurrences in our parashah alone.

Becoming Jewish Americans: Popular Culture and Protest in Yiddish New York

Aug 7, 2023 By Annabel Cohen | Public Event video | Video Lecture

For newly arrived Jewish immigrants, New York was a city of contradictions. Here they experienced freedoms and opportunities they hadn鈥檛 enjoyed in the 鈥渙ld country,鈥� allowing for the development of a mass popular culture that was at once Yiddish and American. Yet for many Jews, the pace of change was too fast, representing the decline of traditional Jewish values and cultures. Meanwhile, for those who found success on the Yiddish stage, screen, and in the press, America was indeed a 鈥済olden country,鈥� but the vast majority of Jewish immigrants lived in extreme poverty and hardship. Home to the first popular Yiddish press and the world鈥檚 biggest Yiddish theater district, New York was also soon home to a sizeable Jewish labor movement and an important center for the transnational Jewish left. Using materials featured in the 91快活林 Library鈥檚 exhibition, we learn about Jewish immigrants in late-19th to early鈥�20th century New York, and the various ways that they embraced, resisted, and demanded change.