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A Wall 鈥淭o the Right of Them, and To the Left鈥�

Jan 18, 2019 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Beshallah

For many years my favorite line in Parashat Beshallah鈥攖he section of Torah that I studied at age 11 while learning to chant with proper musical notation from the scroll鈥攚as the Israelites鈥� sarcastic complaint to Moses when they found themselves trapped between Pharaoh鈥檚 army advancing from behind them, and the sea blocking their way forward.

What? There weren鈥檛 enough graves in Egypt, so you took us out to die in the wilderness? (Exod. 14:11)

The Confusion of Revelation

Jan 25, 2019 By Barry Holtz | Commentary | Yitro

We have now come to Parashat Yitro in our annual Torah reading cycle, arguably the most significant sedra in the Humash. While Parashat Bereishit has the mythic power of the creation stories and Parashat Beshallah includes the narrative of the Exodus from Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Sea, it is in Yitro that we see the culmination of that crossing, for here in Parashat Yitro we read about our first connection to the Torah, the single most significant element of Judaism as it later evolved.

Opt-In Judaism

Feb 1, 2019 By Amy Kalmanofsky | Commentary | Mishpatim

鈥淚鈥檓 gonna make him an offer he can鈥檛 refuse鈥� may be the most well-known line of any movie. Spoken by Don Corleone to Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, it communicates the chilling reality of doing business with a mobster.

The Talmud suggests that God made a similar offer to Israel at Mount Sinai (BT Shabbat 88a). The Torah鈥檚 description that Israel stood under the mountain (转讞转讬转 讛讛专) to receive revelation in Exod 19:17, inspires the Rabbis to imagine God holding the mountain over the people鈥攖hreatening them to accept the Torah . . . or else.

Memory and the Exodus from Egypt

Jan 11, 2019 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Bo

Zakhor鈥擱emember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, from the house of bondage, for with a mighty hand Adonai brought you forth from this . . . (Exod. 13:3).

The Exodus from Egypt is the first of several things the Torah commands us to remember (zakhor). What does it mean to remember, and how do we accomplish it?

Open Your Eyes, Open Your Ears

Jan 4, 2019 By Jack Moline | Commentary | Va'era

Liberation being what it is, oppression is a necessary precursor. Would the world have been a better place if liberation were never necessary? That鈥檚 either a profound or a sophomoric question. Before I make my case, let me acknowledge that the question is purely hypothetical because liberation does exist as a response to the preexisting condition of oppression.

A Turn for the Better

Dec 28, 2018 By Ariella Rosen | Commentary | Shemot

It鈥檚 an all too familiar image: an individual in distress calling out, seeking help, as person after person walks by, completely ignoring their plight. Many of us prefer to see ourselves as the exception, the one who would stop and offer a hand, but statistics paint a different picture. In social psychology, the bystander effect describes the direct inverse correlation between the size of a crowd and the likelihood that someone will step in and help in a moment of crisis. In other words, someone in distress is much more likely to receive support from a solitary passerby than from a large group gathered around them. It appears to be the case that human beings are much more willing to step up when we are alone.

Questions of Life and Legacy

Dec 21, 2018 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Vayehi

This final parashah of Genesis bears a cryptic title: Vayehi, 鈥淗e (that is, Jacob) lived.鈥� Well, of course he lived, and soon he will die, but how has he lived? What legacy does he bequeath? These are the questions that concern Vayehi. What is the Torah鈥檚 final judgment of Jacob, a man who has wrestled, mourned and rejoiced, deceived and been deceived; a man who has been wounded and yet prevails, who has been humbled by his sons and yet manages to retain enough vigor and authority to command them until his dying breath? How has he lived?

Hearing the Scream

Dec 7, 2018 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Miketz

Perhaps no scream is more famous than the one portrayed in Edvard Munch鈥檚 painting popularly known simply as The Scream. The irony is that almost none of us is aware of the scream that Munch intended to portray.