In the Shadow of the Twin Towers
Sep 10, 2011 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Ki Tetzei
As we approach the 10th anniversary of this tragedy, we can search in Parashat Ki Tetzei for a way to respond to it. The parashah ends with the verses about Amalek’s attack on the Israelites, shortly after they left Egypt (Deut. 25:17鈥�19). The Torah says, “Remember what Amalek did to you . . . when you were famished and weary, [they] cut down the stragglers in your rear” (v. 18). According to the JPS translation, the words v’lo yarei Elohim (and not fearing God) at the very end of this verse refer not to the Israelites, as one might think, but to Amalek. The enemy did not fear the Divine, and so they attacked. The paragraph goes on to say that when the people of Israel reach their own land and are at peace, they should blot out all memory of Amalek itself, but always remember what Amalek did.
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A Just and Sustainable Society
Jul 13, 2013 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Devarim | Tishah Be'av
What is your vision of a righteous city? This is an important question, because this week is known as Shabbat Hazon, the Sabbath of Vision, and the vision offered by our prophets is that of a city that has gone astray, abandoning the path of righteousness.
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From Duty to Community and Back
May 29, 2015 By Nigel Savage | Commentary | Naso | Shavuot
Two weeks ago I was amongst a group discussing the nature of obligation in Jewish tradition and contemporary life. I played some role in convening the group because this is鈥攆or me鈥攁 central and often unaddressed paradox in the world we live in today. One can argue about the bounds of halakhah and about the nature and pace of its evolution. But it is hard to argue that we are not a people with a halakhic tradition. Halakhah is too engrained in Jewish tradition and in Jewish history to argue otherwise.
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Why Is This Historic Event Different From All Other Historic Events?
Apr 8, 2014 By Burton L. Visotzky | Short Video | Pesah
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The Lessons of Va-era
Jan 5, 2008 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Va'era
This week鈥檚 parashah abounds in venerable theological problems, beginning with its name and opening verses. How could it be that God 鈥渁ppeared鈥� to the ancestors but that some aspect of God鈥攐r some truth articulated in God鈥檚 name鈥攚as not 鈥渕ade known鈥� to them and will be revealed only now, to Moses? The answer that seems most persuasive to me bears a lesson that, like so many others in the Torah, is not so much theological as ethical; it teaches far less about the nature of God than it does about human responsibility.
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