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Gratitude During Challenging Times

Aug 14, 2020 By Malka Strasberg Edinger | Commentary | Re'eh

This week鈥檚 parashah begins with the verse专职讗值讛讗指谞止讻执讬谞止转值谉诇执驻职谞值讬讻侄诐讛址讬旨讜止诐讘旨职专指讻指讛讜旨拽职诇指诇指讛變 / 鈥淏ehold, I set before you today blessings and curses鈥� (Deut. 11:26). Within the context of the biblical narrative, this verse refers to a choice given to the Israelites upon entering the Promised Land: they could either choose to follow God鈥檚 commandments and reap rewards, or not to follow God鈥檚 commandments and suffer negative consequences. The blessings and curses set before the Israelites are enumerated in Deuteronomy 27鈥�28, and were read publicly upon entering the Land, as recounted in Joshua 8:30鈥�35.

A Moment That Is Always Present

Aug 7, 2020 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Commentary | Eikev

Parashat Eikev is surrounded by matching bookends. The verse that ends the previous parashah, Va鈥檈t-岣nnan, and the verse that begins the subsequent parashah, Re鈥檈h, both contain the word, hayyom, or 鈥渢oday.鈥�

The Wholeness of a Broken Tablet

Jul 31, 2020 By Naomi Kalish | Commentary | Va'et-hannan | Tishah Be'av

Parashat Va鈥檈t-hannan (Deut. 3鈥�7) is always read on Shabbat Nahamu鈥攖he 鈥淪habbat of Comfort鈥濃€攚hich falls immediately after Tishah Be鈥檃v, the day when we commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It receives its name from the opening line of the Haftarah: 鈥淐omfort, comfort, my people鈥� (Isaiah 40:1).

Retelling the Past

Jul 24, 2020 By Sarah Wolf | Commentary | Devarim

Since the wave of protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, Americans have begun to reckon with the narratives many of us have taken for granted about our national past. As part of this national awakening, the legacies of some formerly beloved past leaders are being revisited. Demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, toppled a statue of Thomas Jefferson, a 鈥渇ounding father鈥� who also owned hundreds of slaves; the statue of Teddy Roosevelt in front of New York City鈥檚 American Museum of National History, which portrays him on horseback next to an African and a Native American man, has been removed. Although this is an unprecedented moment of introspection for the United States, we can turn to the Book of Devarim for some insight on what is at stake in telling and retelling the past.

Restorative Justice from Numbers to Now

Jul 17, 2020 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Masei | Mattot

What does restorative justice look like? The Torah pauses Israel鈥檚 journey toward the Land to consider this complex question. Forty years of desert wandering have come to their end, and only the thin ribbon of the River Jordan divides the Israelites from their promised land. As the distance remaining falls to footsteps, urgency mounts to establish values and norms for sovereignty and justice.

The Courage to Not Know

Jul 10, 2020 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Pinehas

If there is a moment of heroism in Parashat Pinehas, it is when the daughters of Zelophahad stand before Moses. Living in the patriarchal world of biblical Israel, they arrive at a defining juncture. Their father, Zelophahad, dies, leaving no sons to inherit or perpetuate his name. While the daughters could have simply accepted the reality of patriarchal inheritance, they bravely choose another path. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah approach Moshe explaining, 鈥淟et not our father鈥檚 name be lost to his clan just because he had no sons! Give us a holding among our father鈥檚 kinsmen!鈥� (Num. 27:4). The reader of Torah cannot help but embrace this gesture with a sense of awe. What trepidation鈥攁nd gumption鈥攎ust have been involved in the decision to bring their case before the leader of the fledgling nation of Israel!

Taking the Long View: Lessons of Leadership

Jul 3, 2020 By Shira D. Epstein | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat

The iconic story in our parashah of Moses striking the rock to bring forth water for the People of Israel is often framed as a morality tale, the consequence of a toxic鈥攁nd disastrous鈥攃ombination of unchecked rage and faltering faith. Indeed, God doles out the harshest possible punishment to Moses for flouting God鈥檚 directive to speak to the rock, in full display of the congregation: 鈥淪ince you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them鈥� (Num. 20: 12).

When Push Comes to Shove: Protests in the Wilderness and in Our Cities

Jun 26, 2020 By Marc Gary | Commentary | Korah

As I sit down to write this Torah commentary on Parashat Korah鈥攖he story of a protest against the political and religious authority of Moses and Aaron鈥攖ens of thousands of people are in the streets of our major cities protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the killings and harassment of other black men and women throughout our nation. Of course, the two protests鈥攖he Korah rebellion in the wilderness of Sinai and the street protests in our major cities鈥攈ave virtually nothing in common. Korah and his followers sought personal aggrandizement while the protesters out my window seek racial justice. Nevertheless, we should ask: What does our Torah parashah teach us in this pregnant moment of anguish and unrest?

What True Leadership Demands

Jun 15, 2020 By Barry Holtz | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

This is truly a fateful parashah. For it is in this week鈥檚 Torah reading that we learn why Israel is condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. The details of the story are straightforward: Moses chooses twelve representatives, one from each of the tribes, to scout the land that the people are about to enter. The spies are given a very specific assignment: Come back with facts鈥攊s this a good land? Are the peoples who live there strong or weak? What is the produce of this land like? (Num. 13:17-20)

The Journey

Jun 12, 2020 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

How do we progress toward our goals? Individually and societally, how do we know when to move forward, and which direction to go?

The Torah of Large-Scale Projects

Jun 5, 2020 By Ashira Konigsburg | Commentary | Naso

Naso opens up with a census of the Levites, who will be responsible for transporting parts of the Mishkan. Num. 4:3 specifies that those who will be engaged in this work are to be between the ages of 30 and 50 and fit for service when the Mishkan is operating.

Ruth鈥檚 Torah Matters Now

May 28, 2020 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Shavuot

Like every Jewish holiday, Shavuot has seasonal and historical components. It celebrates the gifts of Torah and of the spring harvest. Both bounties manifest God鈥檚 glory, sustain Israel, and are captured masterfully by our liturgy.

Our Sacred Partnerships

May 22, 2020 By Mychal Springer | Commentary | Bemidbar

The Midrash teaches us that God destroyed the world several times before creating our world (Bereishit Rabbah 3:7 and 9:2). Famously, after the flood, God establishes a covenant with Noah, Noah鈥檚 sons, and all living things. God says: 鈥淚 will maintain My covenant [beriti] with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth鈥� (Gen. 9:11). When we read this verse in light of the midrash, we understand that God came very close to destroying the world again, but managed to enact a symbolic destruction, providing some people and some of the living creatures with a way to survive. This covenant is the vehicle for keeping humanity and all of creation connected with the divine even when rupture looms as a possibility.

The Nature of Peace

May 15, 2020 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Behar | Behukkotai

The description of peace and prosperity in this week鈥檚 Torah portion seems particularly fitting for our current situation.

Opportunities in Jewish Time

May 8, 2020 By Abigail Uhrman | Commentary | Emor

I had to think twice about what day it was today. In fact, since we鈥檝e been sheltering at home, there have been many days when I have had to think twice. Like most families with children, I have our daily schedule posted prominently in our kitchen to add some much-needed structure to this time, but still, the days seem to stretch on. When Friday rolls around, though, there is a welcome interruption to our normal rhythm as we begin our Shabbat preparations. Despite the benefits of our carefully orchestrated routine, and there are many, Shabbat offers us a 25-hour window to think, do, and be differently than the rest of the week.

Holiness Through Restraint

May 1, 2020 By Joshua Rabin | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

I am a rabbi who works with teenagers, and you cannot talk to adults about teenagers without the conversation quickly focusing on smartphones and social media. And it quickly turns depressing.

Living Outside the Camp

Apr 24, 2020 By | Commentary | Metzora | Tazria

For many of us, the Torah portions of Tazria and Metzora have never felt so relevant. While in years past there was a great sense of distance from the confusing descriptions of biblical skin afflictions, the quarantine of afflicted Israelites, and the complex post-illness purification process, it feels difficult to escape their prescience during our current global pandemic. As we all struggle with the challenges of social distancing and the uncertainty of the future, I believe that insights into the details of our parshiyot can provide us with points of reflection for our present reality.

How Do We Mourn?

Apr 17, 2020 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Shemini

In these dark times, we are faced not for the first time with the question: how do we deal with unbearable pain? There are no easy answers. For some, the solution is to find a way not to feel it, and one way to do that is to drink oneself into oblivion.

Matzah鈥檚 Majestic Meaning

Apr 8, 2020 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Pesah

I don鈥檛 know why we ask the first of the four seder questions鈥斺€淥n all other nights we eat both hametz and matzah but on this night only matzah.鈥� The Ha lahma anya paragraph that immediately precedes the questions already answers it. The opening words, 鈥渢his is the bread of affliction (lahma anya in the Aramaic) that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt,鈥� suggest that the Israelite slaves in Egypt, who presumably had no time to bake bread, ate matzah. And that is why we eat matzah on Passover. So why ask the first question?

Passover in the Time of Coronavirus

Apr 3, 2020 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Pesah

What a difference a year makes鈥攐r a week, or a day. Last year at this time, reflecting on a period of rising anti-Semitism in America and Europe, I wrote that 鈥渄iscussion at your seder table will be different from all Passovers past.鈥� This year, many of those discussions will happen virtually, and attendance at physical seder tables will likely be limited to close family or friends. Many people may be sitting at the seder table alone. The plague is upon us, striking every part of the world without regard to national border or religion. The holiday will not be the same, because we are not the same.

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