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Spiritual Journeys
Nov 4, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
One of the questions commentators wrestle with is “why was Abraham chosen?” What leads God to command this particular individual, lekh l’kha, “go to yourself”?
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Appreciating Our Blessings
Nov 3, 2006 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
Imagine the following request: leave your home, your family, everything that you know and cherish and go 鈥� completely walk away from the world of your ancestors.
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Why Noah?
Oct 28, 2006 By Sharon Keller | Commentary | Noah
When we think of Parashat Noah, we envision a story that everyone is familiar with from early childhood. In our mind’s eye we can see the ark with its tiered decks and Noah swathed in a white robe, looking out the window as a dove flies off toward a rainbow in the background. If that image is not familiar, a trip to any local bookstore (especially one with a children’s section) will provide a variety of options. Noah figures prominently in our mental version of the story, as he does in Genesis, but is the text focusing on him and his actions, or is the Bible emphasizing something else?
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Being a Tzadik
Oct 27, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Noah
In his commentary on Parashat Noah, Rabbi Shmuel Avidor-HaCohen, z”l, raises an interesting question concerning the character of Noah and the quintessential prayer said at the heart of every service, the Amidah.
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Between Creation and Revelation
Oct 21, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bereishit
Creation and the act of creating stand at the essence of Parashat Bereishit.
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Creation As Preparation for Sinai
Oct 21, 2006 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Bereishit
Why did the Torah begin where it does, at the very Beginning, rather than with the first commandment given the children of Israel, which comes well into the Book of Exodus?
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Creation and Revelation
Oct 21, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bereishit
Creation and the act of creating stand at the essence of Parashat Bereishit.
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Biblical Negotiations
Oct 18, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
This week’s Torah reading opens with the death of our matriarch, Sarah, and Abraham’s subsequent acquisition of a burial place for his deceased wife.
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The Revolutionary Nature of Learning Torah
Oct 15, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Simhat Torah
This weekend marks the solemn conclusion of Deuteronomy and the joyous beginning of Genesis as we celebrate the holiday of Simhat Torah.
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Tarry a Day Longer
Oct 14, 2006 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Shemini Atzeret
For me as a child Sh’mini Atzeret was without question the least memorable among the Jewish holidays of the fall season. Sandwiched between the high drama of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the pageantry of Sukkot on one hand and the revelry of Simhat Torah on the other, Sh’mini Atzeret often seemed more like a way station than a destination. It had only two distinguishing characteristics. The first, the prayer for rain, seemed to me supremely irrelevant and even perverse; I wasn’t a farmer and I liked spending time outdoors, so what was the upside to rain? The second, Yizkor, was depressing; in any case in the synagogue of my youth those lucky enough to have parents who were alive and well repaired to the lobby to schmooze while the sad and serious business of Yizkor took place behind closed doors.
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Seeing Sukkot in the Book of Jonah
Oct 7, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Sukkot | Yom Kippur
This week, we make our preparations for the coming festival of Sukkot.
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The Poetry of Forgiveness
Sep 30, 2006 By Stephen P. Garfinkel | Commentary | Shabbat Shuvah
Poetry is the soul of religion.
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Life Is Good
Sep 23, 2006 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah
One of the things we look forward to as the holidays approach is the renewed encounter with melodies and rituals, texts and tastes, which we have developed great affection for over the years. It’s like the feeling one has at the sight of old friends coming down a path to greet us, prompting recollections of the good times we have enjoyed together. I feel that way about the Torah portions that we read on the two days of Rosh Hashanah. I know them well, after all these years, but as with good friends I still wonder what they will have to say to me this year, and I to them.
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An Exegetical and Archaeological Experience
Aug 19, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh
This past June, our family journeyed to Israel 鈥� to reenergize our spiritual selves, to reconnect with the land and people of Israel, and to introduce our daughter to friends and family.
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Our Choice in the Shema
Aug 12, 2006 By David-Seth Kirshner | Commentary | Eikev
This week’s Parashat Eikev is about hearing and listening.
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The Root of All Blessing
Aug 12, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Eikev
Loyalty to covenant and the observance of mitzvot are the theme of Parashat Eikev. Even more movingly (and especially at this time of distress in Israel), the parashah speaks of the beauty and blessing of the land of Israel. In addition to enumerating the seven species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates), Torah relates: “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill . . . a land where you may eat food without stint, and where you will lack nothing” (Deuteronomy 8:7鈥�10).
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The Joy of Torah
Aug 5, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
This past week, I have been receiving many photographs of the destruction raining down on northern Israel. Among the many images, the most moving one was a modest picture taken in the city of Safed. Protected within the four walls of a bomb shelter, it is an image of a rabbi teaching Torah to a group of students. As a page of Talmud sits open before each participant, the rabbi teaches energetically to his receptive audience. For me, this demonstrates the power of learning within the Jewish community 鈥� and the extent to which learning has the potential to shape each and every one of us. Even at a time when our thoughts are undoubtedly elsewhere, Torah remains at the center of our identity.
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The Seven Qualities of Leadership
Jul 29, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Devarim
Leadership is the cornerstone of who we are as Jewish people.
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“My Heart Is in the East”
Jul 22, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Masei | Mattot
The stirring words of the medieval poet of Zion, Yehudah HaLevi, echo through each and every generation: “My heart is in the East, and I am in the far reaches of the West.”
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Exposing Narrative Fissures
Jul 15, 2006 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Pinehas
As a guest columnist for the New York Times this past Friday, Judith Warner shared that her nine鈥搚ear鈥搊ld daughter “was terrified of narrative tension 鈥� cliffhanger pauses, unanswered questions, any sense of foreboding or even strong anticipation.”
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