91快活林

Baalam鈥檚 Tents

Jul 22, 2016 By Lilly Kaufman | Commentary | Balak

Tell me, where can I go today to see a deeply good community? How will I know it when I see it? Where can I go today and exclaim, Mah tovu?

Dreaming of Being Balaam

Jul 22, 2016 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Balak

The story of the heathen prophet Balaam鈥攈ired by Moabite king Balak ben Tzippor to curse the people Israel鈥攊s altogether strange. It concerns events happening outside the Israelite camp and seemingly unknown to them, characters we鈥檝e not yet met, and a talking donkey. Its tone ranges from burlesquely funny to surreal.

Courses of Grief

Jul 15, 2016 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Hukkat

Bereft, I combed through the grass in Central Park at dusk when I realized I had lost my late husband鈥檚 house keys. Yes, on some level, I knew it wasn鈥檛 about the keys. His sudden death two months earlier had devastated me in much more profound ways. And yet, I felt desperate to find those keys!

Come and Knock on a Rock

Jul 15, 2016 By Jonathan Lerner | Commentary | Hukkat

John Ritter was ready for a change. 鈥淎t the beginning of the seventh season [of Three鈥檚 Company], the stuff about the three of us scrambling around for rent money was starting to get repetitive. . . . They had an episode about hiding a dog from Mr. Roper in the beginning [during season one] and then they had one about hiding a cat from Mr. Furley near the end [during season eight]. . . . That鈥檚 when I knew it was time to move on.鈥�

鈥�Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three鈥檚 Company, by Chris Mann 

Choosing Your Child?

Jul 8, 2016 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Korah

鈥淲hich do you prefer鈥攜our firstborn child, or the five coins required to redeem him?鈥�

This disconcerting question is part of the ritual known as pidyon haben, the redemption of the firstborn son. Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (13th鈥�14th centuries) reports this question as part of the liturgy from the geonic period in his Talmud commentary, and it is duly repeated by his son Rabbi Yakov ben Asher and later codifiers of Jewish law.

All鈥揝hall Be鈥揌oly

Jul 8, 2016 By Louis Polisson | Commentary | Korah

Then he took
Perhaps that was the problem
That he took
And didn鈥檛 give

The Gift of Hallah

Jul 1, 2016 By Reuven Greenvald | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

If you鈥檙e a hallah baker, like I am, you know that all your measuring, kneading, and hours of checking on rising dough are totally worth it when, after the hamotzi at the Shabbat table, your family and friends let out a collective 鈥渁aah.鈥� When that fluffy, sweet piece of bread melts in their mouths, they know it鈥檚 really shabbes.

At the Threshold

Jul 1, 2016 By 91快活林 | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

In this week鈥檚 parashah, the Israelites stand at the boundary of the Land of Israel鈥攚ith all its potential for religious and national destiny and for physical danger鈥攃onsidering whether or not to enter. During the spring 2016 semester, 91快活林鈥檚 own entrance was the location of an art installation by , who uses moving images, still projections, light, and sound to engage the history and symbolism of specific venues.

An All-Too-Easy Transgression

Jun 24, 2016 By Leonard A. Sharzer | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

The concluding episode of this week鈥檚 parashah is one of the most well-known and intriguing stories in the Torah, that of Miriam and Aaron publicly maligning Moses and the consequences thereof. The basic elements of the narrative (Num. 12:1鈥�16) are these: Miriam and Aaron speak out against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he has married, and complain that he is not the only prophet in the family. God has spoken through the two of them, as well. God hears all of this. 

Notifications Now and Then

Jun 24, 2016 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

How often do we hear this sound, or feel the vibrations of a mobile device demanding our attention? Breaking news, emails, traffic, and game updates鈥攁lerts both trivial and critical are brought to us by beeps, bars of music, and buzzes.

Answer Me

Jun 17, 2016 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Naso

In a plaintive and anxious song by Israeli singer Ehud Banai called 鈥淎neh Li鈥� (鈥淎nswer Me鈥�), the challenge of communicating with God is rendered as an increasingly panicked monologue by a man waiting for a voice he鈥檚 sure is on the other end of the phone line:

You鈥檙e breaking up鈥攖here鈥檚 background noise鈥攊t鈥檚 like the ocean.
I guess there鈥檚 no reception here鈥攜ou鈥檝e disappeared.
I鈥檓 still waiting on the line for my turn.
I鈥檓 holding the connection, in case you return . . .
Are you still with me?
Answer me.

Light Shine Through

Jun 17, 2016 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Naso

We are Hollow Bamboo
Open up your heart and let the light shine through
Light shine, light shine through!
Light shine, light shine through

The Still, Small Voice

Jun 10, 2016 By Sam Blustin | Commentary | Shavuot

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah experiences a divine intervention: an angel brings him food, and then, on Mount Sinai, God passes by him. But God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but 鈥渢he still, small voice.鈥� This chapter includes allusions to other moments of divine revelation, which we highlighted in this song, including the giving of the Torah.

Behukkotai鈥檚 Challenge to Us

Jun 4, 2016 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Behukkotai

Blessing comes to fruition through journey. The journey may be as simple as lighting Shabbat candles or it may be as complicated as leaving the comfort of one鈥檚 home to discover new worlds. Either way, that which is familiar is left behind, and a new reality challenges one to grow and thus to earn God鈥檚 blessing. Such is the challenge of this week鈥檚 parashah.

Making Space for New Grain

Jun 4, 2016 By Ofra Arieli Backenroth | Commentary | Behukkotai

Naomi Shemer, one of the most famous songwriters and performers in Israel, is known for her thoughtful songs that touch upon universal themes. In this song, she speaks about the need for rejuvenation. Every morning is an opportunity for a new experience. As successful as our days might be, there is always a need to go back to the beginning and start again.

Facing Our Past and Looking Toward the Future

May 27, 2016 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Behar

Recently, the US Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, on the $20 bill. Tubman was born as a slave around 1820, ran away in 1849, and returned south repeatedly to usher more than 300 slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Her selection for the $20 bill is exciting news, because Tubman will be the first African American and the first woman to appear on federal paper currency. Women and civil rights leaders will be added to the $5 and $10 bills in the coming years, as well. While these changes are long overdue, the question is whether this change is merely symbolic or a further step toward acknowledging our nation鈥檚 ugly history of slavery. 

How Many Harvests

May 27, 2016 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Behar

In its radical reframing of our right to claim ownership of anything and anyone, Parashat Behar sets our mortality against God鈥檚 eternality, and our contingent lease to the Land against God鈥檚 permanent deed: 鈥淭he Land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the Land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me鈥� (Lev. 25:23).

The Blasphemer鈥檚 Twin

May 20, 2016 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Emor

This week鈥檚 parashah ends with a sin:

讜址讬旨执拽旨止讘 讘旨侄谉-讛指讗执砖旨讈指讛 讛址讬旨执砖讉职专职讗值诇执讬转 讗侄转-讛址砖旨讈值诐 讜址讬职拽址诇旨值诇.

The son of the Israelite woman pronounced the name [of God] and cursed. (Lev. 24:11)

Maybe we don鈥檛 need to overthink why a law code seen as given by God would determine that cursing God is problematic, but how severe a crime is this? Evidently, Moses was uncertain: the culprit was detained while Moses checked in with God (Lev. 24:12). Perhaps the negative consequence of this act seems unclear. After all, what harm can possibly come to God through human words?

An Illustration of Kiddush Levanah

May 20, 2016 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Emor

The middle of this week鈥檚 parashah (Lev. 23) details the cycle of the Jewish holidays. Each holiday is listed according to its month and its day. The months of the Hebrew calendar are strictly lunar, from new moon to new moon. Kiddush Levanah, a selection of prayers in honor of the new moon, is traditionally recited at the end of the first or second shabbat of each month.

鈥淵ou Shall Fear Your God鈥�: Theological, Moral, and Psychological Implications

May 13, 2016 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Kedoshim

There are many exhortations in Leviticus 19, but only two of them conclude with 鈥�you shall fear your God, I am the Lord.鈥� We will focus on Leviticus 19:14鈥�

You shall not curse the deaf, and before the blind you shall not place a stumbling block; rather you shall fear your God, I am the Lord

鈥攁nd five traditional Jewish interpretations, to examine how the phrase 鈥測ou shall fear your God鈥� informs our understanding of the injunctions not to curse the deaf and not to place a stumbling block before the blind.