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The Liberating Power of the Calendar

Jan 31, 2020 By Hillel Gruenberg | Commentary | Bo

In Parashat Bo, God instructs Moses to formally begin the counting of months, with the month of Aviv (later Nisan) kicking off what we now know as the Hebrew calendar. This injunction represents the first commandment given to the Children of Israel, and only the third or fourth in the entirety of the Torah. It might seem odd that this, of all the many commandments the children of Israel will eventually receive, is handed down first, even before the exodus from Egypt was completed. However, the institution of this uniquely Hebrew calendrical system (its overlap with other frameworks aside) was a necessary precursor to support both the communal-religious practice and mental emancipation of a newly (or rather, soon-to-be) free people.

Finding Freedom

Jan 24, 2020 By Joel Pitkowsky | Commentary | Va'era

A moment of great tragedy occurs in this week鈥檚 Torah reading, although it is not a moment that many people focus on when they read these chapters. There is so much drama in this story, so many scenes that we can visualize either because we鈥檝e seen them acted out on stage or in a movie (or perhaps in our dining room during a Passover Seder), or because they are powerful moments that speak to our connection with one of the pivotal Jewish moments, that many people pass over (pun intended!) the quieter elements of the story.

Spiritual Poetry Makes the Good Book Great

Jan 17, 2020 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Shemot

For many readers, the Torah is more than the good book. It is a great book. The Torah鈥檚 greatness can be attributed to its literary uniqueness (there really is no other book quite like it) and to its remarkable place at the foundation of three major religions.

For me, the Torah鈥檚 greatness comes from the way it integrates artistry and meaning. 

Difficult Blessings and the Love Within

Jan 10, 2020 By Jacob Blumenthal | Commentary | Vayehi

At the age of 90, my mother鈥檚 mind was still 鈥渟harp as a tack鈥� (she loved those kinds of somewhat anachronistic expressions), even as her body was failing. With the growing realization that the solution to each physical ailment aggravated her other challenges, Bernice, 锄鈥漧, agreed it was time to engage hospice care. 鈥淚 want two things,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be in pain. And I want to see everyone I love before I die.鈥�

Why Everyone Should Cry in Public

Jan 3, 2020 By Sarah Wolf | Commentary | Vayiggash

Vayiggash brings us to the culmination of the drama between Joseph and his brothers that began in Parashat Miketz. Ten of Joseph鈥檚 brothers鈥攁ll but Benjamin鈥攈ad travelled to Egypt to buy food during a famine. Joseph, newly in command in Egypt, had disguised himself and, perhaps in retaliation for the way they had treated him earlier, forced his brothers to go through various ordeals and humiliating situations. One of Joseph鈥檚 demands was that his brothers bring their youngest brother Benjamin when they returned to Egypt, with which they now comply, despite their father Jacob鈥檚 resistance to putting his youngest and beloved son in danger. 

Letters Unopened

Dec 27, 2019 By Shira D. Epstein | Commentary | Miketz

Several years ago, during a period of intense dreaming, I started keeping what I lovingly referred to as a 鈥渓uminous journal.鈥� Immediately upon awakening from a dream, I would reach for a notebook on my nightstand and furiously transcribe all I had experienced, inclusive of dialogue, and mood鈥攁 verbatim as if recounting a real-life event. I had learned over time that otherwise, the intense narrative and video that had so vividly played for my one-person viewing audience would be lost. No record, no memory of my dreams.

To Fulfill a Mitzvah

Dec 20, 2019 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Vayeshev

There is an interesting moment in this week’s parashah during Joseph’s search for his brothers. Initially, Joseph seeks them in Shechem, where Jacob supposes them to be. As Joseph fruitlessly seeks his brothers, a man who perceives that Joseph is wandering aimlessly asks Joseph the purpose of his search. When Joseph replies that he is seeking his brothers, the man tells him he has heard that they are headed for Dothan. Joseph then follows his brothers there, and the story unfolds of his sale as a slave and his descent to Egypt.

Wrestling for Blessing

Dec 13, 2019 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Vayishlah

On the eve of his dreaded reunion with Esau, Jacob remained alone in the dark, and 鈥渁 man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.鈥� The mysterious assailant injured Jacob, dislocating his thigh, but Jacob refused to let go, so the man pleaded with him, saying: 鈥淟et me go, for dawn is breaking!鈥� Jacob replied, 鈥淚 will not let you go unless you bless me.鈥� The assailant asked for Jacob鈥檚 name, and conferred a new one, Israel, 鈥渇or you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed鈥� (Gen. 32:25-29).