91快活林

God-naming

Jan 8, 2016 By Reuven Greenvald | Commentary | Va'era

鈥淎nd God spoke to Moshe, and [God] said to him: I am YHVH. I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Ya鈥檃kov as El Shaddai, but by my name YHVH I was not known to them鈥� (Exodus 6:2鈥�3).

When God shifts from using the ancient El Shaddai (usually translated as 鈥淕od Almighty鈥�) to YHVH, meaning, 鈥淚 will be what I will be,鈥� the divine-human relationship becomes more intimate.  

Hope and the Unknown

Jan 2, 2016 By Rabbi Abigail Treu | Commentary | Shemot

As legend has it, my great-grandfather quit school after the eighth grade. Apparently this decision had little to do with academics: my Grandpa Harry, 锄鈥漧, was a smart man who went on to become a successful furrier with his own business in Manhattan. No, apparently it had everything to do with social pressure. As legend has it, he walked into school on the first day of the ninth grade, realized that no one at his new school knew him, and walked out.

The Landscape of Revelation

Jan 2, 2016 By Eitan Fishbane | Commentary | Shemot

“Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. . .The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?鈥�”

Blessings From Love

Dec 25, 2015 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Vayehi

Given all that鈥檚 come before in Genesis, the Torah鈥檚 notice that Israel鈥檚 days are nearing their end brings dread. This stems not from fear of death, but a dread of blessing. The passing of a patriarch means that a scene of generational blessing is imminent.

Mourning for Joseph

Dec 25, 2015 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Commentary | Vayehi

Joseph and Zulaykha was written by Ja虅mi虅, a Persian poet and adherent of the mystical tradition of Islam (Sufism). It is based on the biblical story of Joseph and the wife of the Egyptian courtier, Potiphar (she is known as Zulaykha in Muslim tradition).

Holiday Webinars for Rabbis Archive

Dec 23, 2015

The resources on this page were produced exclusively for rabbis. Please exercise discretion when sharing. Malchuyot, Zichronot, Shofarot:A Roadmap for Our Timeswith Rabbi Ayelet Cohen(High Holidays 5786)Download SourcesGuiding Our Broken Hearts into the New Year Confession And Communitywith Rabbi Gordon Tucker(High Holidays 5786)Download SourcesIn the Plural: Communal Confession and Ethical Clarity Commemorating October 7: A […]

A Tale of Two Dreamers

Dec 18, 2015 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Vayiggash

Shortly after Jacob arrives in Egypt Joseph鈥攗ndoubtedly eager to introduce his father and his patron to each other鈥攁rranges an audience with Pharaoh for his father. Following the time honored traditions of polite conversation, Pharaoh asks a prosaic question: 鈥淗ow many are the years of your life?鈥�

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. 

Shabbat Hagadol

Dec 16, 2015

⁴ Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of yore and in the years of old.

Joseph’s Feast

Dec 11, 2015 By Michael R. Boino | Commentary | Miketz

In Joseph鈥檚 Feast, Joseph struggles with his family trauma as well as his desire for familial love. The title as well as some of the content of the poem alludes to Belshazzar鈥檚 feast as told in the Book of Daniel (Chapter Five).

Joseph, Hanukkah, and the Dilemmas of Assimilation

Dec 11, 2015 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah

Ruminations about assimilation come naturally to Jews in North America during the winter holiday season. How much should a parent insist that Hanukkah is part of public school celebrations that give students a heavy dose of Christmas? How often should one remind store clerks who innocently ask Jewish children which gifts they hope to receive from Santa this year that there are other faiths observed in our communities, and other holidays?

Disabilities, Inclusion, and Jewish Education

Dec 9, 2015 By 91快活林 | Public Event video

How does the Jewish community help individuals with a range of disabilities participate meaningfully in Jewish education and Jewish life? A panel of experts discusses key innovations and challenges in the field as they apply to both formal and informal Jewish education, and explores which programs, services, and opportunities are still missing.

The Values of a Jewish Home

Dec 5, 2015 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayeshev

A few weeks ago, Etgar Keret, an accomplished author on the Israeli literary scene, made a pilgrimage from his home in Tel Aviv to 91快活林鈥檚 Schocken Institute in Jerusalem to address a group of rabbinical students from 91快活林 and HUC. Among the many thoughtful and reflective insights he shared, he spoke of the need for Israeli society to reflect the best of Jewish values. 

Redemption in the Dark Pit

Dec 5, 2015 By Jason Gitlin | Commentary | Vayeshev

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.

How to Be Righteous

Dec 3, 2015 By Adam Zagoria-Moffet | Short Video | Hanukkah

The purely righteous do not complain about darkness, but increase light. They don’t complain about evil, but increase justice. They don’t complain about heresy, but increase faith. They don’t complain about ignorance, but increase wisdom.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Arpilei Tohar (1914), p. 2.

The Story of We

Dec 3, 2015 By Stephanie Ruskay | Short Video | Hanukkah

Revolutionaries at Home

Dec 3, 2015 By Alisa Braun | Short Video | Hanukkah

No Religion Is an Island

Nov 24, 2015 By 91快活林 | Public Event video

A conversation between UTS President Professor Serene Jones and 91快活林 Chancellor Professor Arnold Eisen, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s revolutionary address at Union Theological Seminary.

Homecoming

Nov 24, 2015 By Marcus Mordecai Schwartz | Commentary | Vayishlah

In Parashat Vayishlah, Jacob returns to the Land of Canaan after a long absence and finds trouble rather than the comforts of home. He prepares to meet his estranged and potentially violent brother.

Face to Face

Nov 24, 2015 By Anne Lapidus Lerner | Commentary | Vayishlah

The tortured relationship between the twin brothers Esau and Jacob has been a significant element in the two previous parshiyot鈥擳oledot and Vayetze. It is resolved in this week鈥檚 parashah, Vayishlah. Although there is no peace treaty, the resolution is deeply desired by both brothers and reflected both in the undoing of the language that started the problem and in the brothers鈥� truly seeing and acknowledging each other.