Study of Ritual – Study as Ritual

Nov 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

We do not study Torah primarily to find out what God wants us to do, and we certainly do not study our sacred texts to learn history, or medicine. The act of Talmud Torah, the studying of Torah, is itself a mitzvah, a command. As with many commandments (eating matzah, putting on tefillin, etc), there is a berakhah, a blessing, that precedes the act. In Siddur Sim Shalom: A Prayerbook for Shabbat, Festivals, and Weekdays (4), we find three linked blessings about Torah.

Seeing the Image of God

Nov 12, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayishlah

After a 20-year absence from home and family back in the Land of Israel, Jacob journeys home. And like any of us en route to the home of our family of origin, anxiety and uncertainty (along with anticipation and joy) play core roles in the experience.

A Guide for the Perplexed: A Novel

Nov 11, 2013 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

Novelist Dara Horn, the winner of two National Jewish Book Awards, on her new book, A Guide For The Perplexed: A Novel.

Hatemail: Anti-Semitism on Picture Postcards A Discussion with Author Salo Aizenberg

Nov 7, 2013 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio

Salo Aizenberg, one of the leading collectors of Judaic picture postcards, is also the author of Postcards from the Holy Land: A Pictorial History of the Ottoman Era, 1880-1918. He is a managing director of the RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund, and coordinates its business development activities. He earned his BS in Management Information Systems at the State University of New York at Binghamton and his MBA at Columbia Business School.

What Is Life Worth? Tailoring the Law to Meet the Challenges of Unique Catastrophes

Nov 6, 2013

9/11. The BP oil spill. The Boston Marathon bombing. Major tragedies captivate the public and often galvanize officials into using unconventional strategies to help those most affected.

The Anomaly of the Night: Fear, Power, Divine Presence (Shekhinah), Part 2

Nov 6, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

To the human heart and soul, night and morning are profoundly different, even though an astronomer would see them as equivalent observed consequences of the orbit of the earth around the sun. The first blessing of the evening service (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat, 28) praises God for establishing the natural cycles: “You roll away light as darkness sets in, and darkness as the light dawns.” The morning service offers a tight structure of two blessings before, and one after, the Shema’ on the themes of Creation, Revelation, and Redemption (to be explored here in a future essay). Although the texts are a little different in the morning and the evening, the themes are identical.

Being in the Land

Nov 6, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayetzei

Parashat Vayetzei opens with Jacob’s flight from the Land of Israel.

Rachel Leans In

Nov 5, 2013 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Vayetzei

Recent conversations in popular feminism revolve around trying to capture what it means to “have it all,” and, if that’s even possible, how to achieve it.

Chancellor Eisen Discusses the Legacy of Rabbi David Hartman

Nov 4, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video

A discussion from “A Day of Study Celebrating the Impact of Rabbi Professor David Hartman,” held in New York City on May 5, 2013, featuring David Hartman’s onetime student and friend, Arnold Eisen, Chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary, in conversation with Donniel Hartman (President, Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem). The program was recorded by Shalom TV.

In Search of God

Oct 29, 2013 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Toledot

Through the unexpected and serendipitous Shabbat meal invitations that often seem to come about when one is studying in Jerusalem, I found myself many years ago sitting at the festive Shabbat table of an ultra-Orthodox family one autumn Friday night.

Night: Fear, Power, Divine Presence (Shekhinah)

Oct 29, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Transitions are times of vulnerability, anxiety, even fear. The mezuzah guides us through the transition between our home and the outside world. The words of the challenging, non-Israelite Prophet Balaam welcome us into the synagogue: “Mah Tovu (How beautiful are your tents O Jacob).” I wrote several reflections on the prayer texts that support us from sleep to wakefulness, giving thanks for soul and body restored to strength and vitality for another day.

The Challenge of Tomorrow’s Blessing

Oct 29, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Toledot

Parashat Toledot opens in life and closes with the threat of death.

Life: Quantity Vs. Quality

Oct 23, 2013 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah

“And the span of Sarah’s life was 127 years—the years of Sarah’s life” (Gen. 23:1; my translation). Whenever I read this verse, I feel a deep sadness that is only intensified by the story that follows. Let me explain.

Mizmor LeDavid (Psalm 23)—Time, Text, Melody

Oct 23, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

Psalm 23 is beloved in much of the English-speaking world for affirming a certainty of the divine presence—even in times of dread and adversity—in the most hauntingly beautiful language. The paean to the Psalm by 19th-century American pastor Henry Ward Beecher is widely cited.“The twenty third psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It is small, of a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity; but oh! it has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive” (Life Thoughts).

Ahuzah: Settling Down

Oct 23, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah

At the opening of this week’s parashah, Abraham is occupied with arrangements for the burial of his beloved wife, Sarah.

Cantillation for Torah

Oct 22, 2013 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Prayer Recordings

Recordings by Cantor Sarah Levine (CS ’17).

A Hand to Hold

Oct 16, 2013 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Vayera

Her beautiful 16-year-old Ishmael lying whimpering nearby from mortal thirst and her own death close at hand, Hagar—in Genesis 21:15–18—is about as pitiable as one might imagine.

Prayer: Invitation and Outcry

Oct 16, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), with many organizations and agencies working together to spread awareness and the understanding that this scourge is endemic in modern society—and that no religion and no sector of society is exempt. My friend and colleague Rabbi Lisa Gelber, associate dean of The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary, was invited by FaithTrust Institute to write the “Universal Prayer” for the call of unity that opened DVAM, and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (which convened the call) then created artwork to frame the prayer on a flyer. The prayer has found wide acceptance and recognition.