Search Results
Back to 91快活林 Torah Online's Main page
Choose Life and Torah
Sep 19, 2014 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh
The Torah wants to speak to Children of Israel in every time and place, in a way that leads them鈥攍eads us鈥攖o carry forward the project that Moses has directed. It succeeds in that effort: we too are stirred by Moses鈥檚 language, compelled by his vision, moved to undertake responsibility for his Torah. Four passages in Parashat Nitzavim seem to me especially crucial to Moses鈥檚 teaching and our response.
Read More
The Covenant and the Land
Sep 19, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh
At the opening of Parashat Nitzavim, the Israelites stand rooted before Moses and God. A captive and diverse audience, they are recipients of a message that is both immediate and transcendent in nature.
Read More
Reflective Learning in the Season of Teshuvah
Sep 12, 2014 By Jason Gitlin | Commentary | Ki Tavo
While the formal Hebrew title for each book of Torah is today derived from a word in its first verse, the Rabbis regularly employed a different logic: use a name that captured the book鈥檚 main theme.
Read More
From Reflection to Appreciation
Sep 12, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tavo
Having underscored the role of memory at the conclusion of last week鈥檚 parashah (remembering the cruelty of Amalek), the Torah now accentuates the importance of appreciation in Parashat Ki Tavo.
Read More
A Time to Grieve
Sep 5, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tetzei
As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold and war is waged against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), we turn our soul鈥檚 attention to Parashat Ki Tetzei.
Read More
Who鈥檚 Judging?
Aug 29, 2014 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Shofetim
In the opening verses of our Torah portion, the Israelites are commanded to establish a fair, impartial, and moral judicial system upon settling the Land of Israel.
Read More
Dependent? Yes, but on Whom?
Aug 29, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shofetim
The Cairo Genizah, a rich treasure trove of Jewish history (60,000 fragments of this repository are housed in The Library of 91快活林) rediscovered by Solomon Schechter toward the end of the 19th century, attests to the rich Jewish life that flourished in Egypt and beyond.
Read More
How to Practice Faith
Aug 22, 2014 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Re'eh
Watch a world-class athlete do something extraordinary, like somersault and twist through the air from a high diving platform or serve a tennis ball so fast down the line that it seems fired by a cannon.
Read More
Lessons of Idolatry
Aug 22, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh
Parashat Re’eh looks forward to the entry of the Israelites into the Land.
Read More
Waters of Uncertainty
Aug 15, 2014 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Eikev
鈥淚f it doesn鈥檛 rain, we don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� commented a NASA water-cycle scientist recently on the drought that has been devastating California.
Read More
Taking Responsibility for the Land
Aug 15, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Eikev
Parashat Eikev deals heavily with the theme of entering and securing the Land of Israel.
Read More
The Comfort of Prayer
Aug 8, 2014 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
Parashat Va’et-hannan contains some of the most inspiring and sweepingly grand passages in the entire Torah, and some of the best known, including the Ten Commandments and the first paragraph of the Shema.
Read More
Humility: God Is Above and Below
Aug 8, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
Parashat Va鈥檈t-hannan, the second Torah reading of the book of Deuteronomy, places much of its emphasis on the loyal observance of mitzvot, God鈥檚 commandments.
Read More
The View From the Other Side
Aug 1, 2014 By Stephen P. Garfinkel | Commentary | Devarim
Is the author of this week鈥檚 Torah reading, Parashat Devarim, or the author of the entire book of Devarim (Deuteronomy, the last of the five books of the Torah), not paying attention?
Read More
A Shared Responsibility
Aug 1, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Devarim
This coming Shabbat, we begin the fifth and final book of Torah as we read Parashat Devarim, the opening of the book of Deuteronomy.
Read More
Life鈥檚 Journeys
Jul 25, 2014 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Masei
In a few weeks, thousands of US high school students will leave home to begin college or a gap year of study and/or service before entering college.
Read More
At Home, Running for Cover
Jul 25, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Masei
The past month has been a time of great emotion and tension for those of us living in Israel. From the moment that Naftali Fraenkel (锄鈥漧), Gilad Sha鈥檃r (锄鈥漧), and Eyal Yifrach (锄鈥漧) were kidnapped, there was a sense of foreboding that overtook the country.
Read More
Our Prayers for Israel鈥擣or Whom Is the Message?
Jul 24, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
A serious challenge confronting the all-too-human venture of praying to God is in working out what we can say to the 鈥淥ne Who knows all.鈥� A prayer for a congregation to recite in the face of destructive storms might open with the words, 鈥淕od, we stand before you in time of peril鈥濃�攂ut if God truly knows all, might we not assume that God is well aware of the peril facing the community?
Read More
Melody or Discord
Jul 18, 2014 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
There is a parable that speaks of a village that once had a renowned orchestra that played beautiful music at set times in the presence of the king, bringing delight both to the musicians and their ruler, who rewarded the musicians generously for their artistry and commitment. As time passed, the original musicians grew old and their place was taken by others who were not quite so gifted, drawn perhaps by the exalted audience and generous reward.
Read More
The Power of Words
Jul 18, 2014 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Mattot | Yom Kippur
Are words important? This is a question that bedevils us as human beings.
Read More
SUBSCRIBE TO TORAH FROM 91快活林
Our regular commentaries and videos are a great way to stay intellectually and spiritually engaged with Jewish thought and wisdom.