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Covenant

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

We know that in the Torah, a covenant is made between God and Israel. But, how is this covenant still relevant today? Is it? And how does it relate to Conservative Judaism?

Peoplehood

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

Judaism, especially Conservative Judaism sees the need for Jews to be a people, different from the rest of the community in which they live. However, Conservative Judaism is also inherently pluralistic, in that Conservative Jews can feel comfortable in a variety of services, whether they are Orthodox or Reform. What other ways can peoplehood benefit Judaism?

Continuing the Conversation

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

Chancelor Eisen has previously recorded three essays relating to Conservative Judaism. One on Covenant, one on Community, and one on Peoplehood. All of these essays received many comments, and such a debate is encouraged. Therefore, Chancellor Eisen now responds to a selection of the comments he received.

Learning

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

Judaism gives a lot of emphasis towards learning. Every generation of Jews engaged in learning, an activity that connets us to our past. How can we, as Conservative Jews learn Torah not only seriously, but also relatably with the modern world?

Joining the Conversation of Torah

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

The basic requirements of Conservative Jewish learning, regardless of venue, level, or age group, follow directly from the movement’s distinctive vision. How can you and  your community engage in learning Torah with this vision in mind?

Mitzvah

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

The modern world is one in which people are very individualistic. This continues to how many Jews practice their Judaism today. They see being commanded to do something to be dishonest to how they feel about that mitzvah. However, can mitzvot and the modern world work hand in hand?

Mitzvah (Continued)

Oct 4, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen

The modern world is one in which people are very individualistic. This continues to how many Jews practice their Judaism today. They see being commanded to do something to be dishonest to how they feel about that mitzvah. However, can mitzvot and the modern world work hand in hand?

Are We Taking Too Much?

Oct 4, 2012 By 91快播 | Public Event audio

The 2010 Bokser Memorial Lecture, “Are We Taking Too Much? Urgent values Questions Brought into Focus by the Global Recession.鈥� Featuring an opening presentation by Dr. Noam Zohar of Bar-ilan University, followed by text study led by Dr. Eliezer Diamond and Rabbi Nina Cardin, and concluding with a panel discussion between these three, moderated by Prof. Alan Mittleman.

The Ethics of Health Care Reform

Oct 4, 2012 By Daniel Nevins | Public Event audio

Rabbi Daniel Nevins, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School of 91快播, delivers a lecture on “The Ethics of Health Care Reform” at Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Nostra Aetate Dialogue

Oct 4, 2012 By 91快播 | Public Event audio

Actions Speak Louder With Words

Sep 29, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

“Hareini muhan umezuman . . . I am ready to perform the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah as instructed by my Divine Creator: ‘In Sukkot shall you dwell for seven days . . . ‘” (Siddur Sim Shalom, 330)

The View From Har Nebo

Sep 29, 2012 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Ha'azinu

We cannot begin to fathom the extent of emotion that must have rushed through Moses as he faced the reality that he was not to enter the Land, but “die on the mountain” that he was about to ascend. What words were exchanged between Moses and God? What conversation is not recorded in the Torah?

Fulfilling Our Potential

Sep 28, 2012 By Jonathan Milgram | Commentary | Devarim

When the end of the week arrives and we settle into our Friday night routine of rituals, I often try to encapsulate in a few short sentences what I think is the main thought or idea in the parashah so that my children leave the table with a 鈥渢akeaway鈥� lesson.

Ultimate Questions

Sep 20, 2012 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Shabbat Shuvah | Rosh Hashanah

There are some who expect religion to provide answers. The religious experience is thought to be a refuge from the messiness of life; a peaceful, ordered worldview that may help explain life’s daunting moments. In this way, faith offers the believer comfort that life is as it was meant to be, and that one’s spiritual work centers on acceptance and “finding” one’s path. Judaism turns these ideas on their head.

How to Love Yom Kippur

Sep 12, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Yom Kippur

The importance of “permission to pray with those who have transgressed,” recited immediately before chanting Kol Nidrei, is underlined in some congregations by the practice of repeating the words three times for added emphasis. The declaration clearly has enormous rhetorical power. But what does it mean? How can these words, this claim, help propel us forward into Kol Nidrei and beyond?

Moving Forward in Prayer, Together and Alone

Sep 8, 2012 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary

Several weeks ago, I attended the West Point funeral of Major Thomas E. Kennedy, husband of my friend Kami. I’ve officiated at countless funerals and attended many others to comfort the bereaved. Although not my first military funeral, this was the first memorial for an officer I’d known personally, and my first visit to West Point.

Tip Toe Through Ki Tavo

Sep 8, 2012 By Ofra Arieli Backenroth | Commentary | Ki Tavo

This week’s Torah parashah is concerned with the Israelites’ entrance into the Promised Land. The parashah emphasizes that the Israelites should obey God’s commandments faithfully, with all their heart and soul. Since the Covenant between God and Israel establishes mutually binding obligations for both God and the Israelites, God’s commitments are also reaffirmed: the promise to make Israel a holy people.

To Go Out of the Wilderness

Sep 1, 2012 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Ki Tetzei

This week鈥檚 Torah portion is directed at Israelites about to 鈥済o out鈥� of the wilderness; next week鈥檚 portion offers guidance to those about to 鈥渃ome in鈥� to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy is anxious for the Israelites to build a society distinct from the one that had enslaved them and no less distinct from the other societies and cultures that will surround them in the Land of Canaan. It wants a people united in their new nation-state鈥攁nd, to that end, propounds a series of wide-ranging laws designed to bring and keep them together.

The Blessing of Monotony?

Sep 1, 2012 By Jack Chomsky | Commentary

Many people struggle with the fact that traditional Jewish prayer is a fixed entity. The words that we say, the times that we say them, are prescribed according to traditions and Jewish law. The culture in which we live, by contrast, values spontaneity and novelty. Why not pray when one feels like it, and not be forced to shoehorn one’s intellect and emotions according to the seemingly arbitrary ideas of our ancient rabbis?

Psalm 27: The Days of Awe

Aug 25, 2012 By Alan Cooper | Rosh Hashanah

The custom of reciting Psalm 27 during the penitential season, variously understood to entail the period from Rosh Hodesh Elul through Yom Kippur, Hoshanah Rabbah, or Shemini Atzeret, is codified in Mishnah Berurah, siman 581: “In our region it is customary to recite [Psalm 27] followed by kaddish at the conclusion of the morning and evening services every day from Rosh Hodesh Elul until Yom Kippur; we customarily recite it until Shemini Atzeret.”