Going Out to Meet God and History

Dec 6, 2024 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Vayetzei

In what ways do the Jewish people, the descendants of Jacob, still reside in his 鈥渉ouse鈥�? How can we, who bear the name by which Jacob will be called in next week鈥檚 Torah portion, become the Israel whom Jacob henceforth struggles to become? I鈥檇 like to suggest, using the indispensable categories for Jewish self-understanding contributed by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, that Jacob is party to the 鈥渃ovenant of fate,鈥� while Israel signifies the 鈥渃ovenant of destiny.鈥� The 鈥渃ovenant of fate鈥� is imposed on Jews by history and circumstance, while the 鈥渃ovenant of destiny鈥� is one that Jews are called on to embrace in partnership with God.

鈥淕er Vetoshav鈥�: A Lesson on Vulnerabilities and Humility

Nov 22, 2024 By Gordon Tucker | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah

Abraham rose, as he had to, from his wailing, because there was a necessary and sacred task to perform. And at that moment of needing to bury his dead, an enormity confronted him. Here鈥檚 how Abraham put it: 鈥済er vetoshav anokhi鈥濃€擨 am merely a stranger (ger), come to be an alien resident (toshav) here. I have no place; I have no accumulated rights and privileges.

Can You Spell Check the Tanakh?

Nov 15, 2024 By David Zev Moster | Commentary | Vayera

There is a puzzling word in this week鈥檚 parashah: 诪值讞植讟讜止鈥渇rom sinning鈥� (Genesis 20:6). God appears to Abimelekh in a dream and says, 鈥淚 myself have kept you from sinning (诪值讞植讟讜止) against me [with Sarah].鈥� The word 诪值讞植讟讜止 is unusual because it should be spelled with an alef, either as 诪值讞植讟止讗 in 1 Samuel 12:23 or as 诪值讞植讟讜止讗 in Psalm 39:2. We know there should be an alef because the Hebrew root 讞讟讗鈥渢o sin鈥� appears 603 times in the Tanakh and has an alef 99.2% of the time. So, is the missing alef of 诪值讞植讟讜止 a spelling error? It depends on who you ask.

How Can We Be a Blessing?

Nov 8, 2024 By Cantor Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg | Commentary | Lekh Lekha

I have often pondered the meaning of the expression that a deceased person鈥檚 memory should be a blessing or will be for a blessing. Proverbs 10:7 teaches that 鈥渢he name of a righteous person is invoked in blessing鈥濃€斪栔抵Ｗ浿蹲� 爪址汁讚执旨讬拽诇执讘职专指讻指謶讛 . Originally, this likely referred to invoking the name of a well-known righteous person as an exemplar and conduit for our own blessing. The Babylonian Talmud also teaches (Kiddushin 31b) that after the death of a parent, we may continue to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring our parents, and by extension other beloved relatives and friends, by saying 鈥渮ikhronam livrakhah,鈥� 鈥渕ay their memory be for a blessing.鈥�

Living With Difference

Nov 1, 2024 By Naomi Kalish | Commentary | Noah

Is the story of the Tower of Babel about human unity, or about human diversity?At the critical point when the Torah transitions from the story of Noah and its universal themes to the particular family of Abraham, the Tower of Babel conveys ambivalence about both unity and diversity.In doing so, it provides us with a model for how we can navigate our own complex social dynamics, especially in times of crisis and trauma.

God鈥檚 Partners in Torah

Oct 25, 2024 By Robert Harris | Commentary | Bereishit

The ancient rabbinic Sages taught that the people of Israel must consider themselves, 砖讜转驻讬讜砖诇讛拽讚讜砖讘专讜讱讛讜讗讘诪注砖讛讘专讗砖讬转鈥淕od鈥檚 partner in the work of creation鈥� (BT, Shabbat 119b and elsewhere). Often overlooked is that reading the Torah鈥檚 opening (讘专讗砖讬转讘专讗讗诇讛讬诐…, which I am deliberatively leaving untranslated for now) demands a similar type of partnership. The reason for this is that the opening of the Torah contains impenetrably difficult syntax. Let us consider the very first verse: 讘职旨专值讗砖执讈讬转讘指旨专指讗讗直诇止讛执讬诐讗值转讛址砖指旨讈诪址讬执诐讜职讗值转讛指讗指专侄抓. If we were to translate this verse literally, and absolutely retaining the order of the words, we would understand it along these lines: 鈥淚n the beginning of, he-created God (did), heavens and earth . . . 鈥� This is a far cry from the affecting cadence of the majestic King James Bible鈥檚 translation, 鈥淚n the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.鈥� The question is, given the difficult syntax, what does this verse 鈥渁ctually鈥� mean?

Lessons from Kohelet: If There Is Nothing New Under the Sun, How Do We Solve Our Gigantic Contemporary Problems?

Oct 16, 2024 By Stephanie Ruskay | Commentary | Sukkot

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) is read during Sukkot, and at this moment I鈥檓 finding it to be precisely the wisdom I need. When I feel worried about the many crises we face, the idea that there is nothing new under the sun can be comforting. To me it means we have what we need to address the problem. We need to have humility and consider the tools God has given us and those humans have developed over time. Our main task is to find the right formula. Though breakthrough discoveries and new inventions exist, often what we seek is the right old tool in the proper configuration. It is a question of titration.

Sacred Words in Liturgy and Life

Oct 11, 2024 By Shira Billet | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

Human communication, the commitment to taking words seriously and to viewing the words we write and speak as serious commitments, has become even more imperiled in an age where our words are mediated through the technologies of social media, artificial intelligence, and the crippling social phenomena of political polarization and widespread mistrust.

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