JTS Torah Archive

Extremes of Leadership

Jun 29, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Pinehas

The Torah is a book of contrasts, of frequent and even wild swings between extremes — extremes of points of view and extremes of behavior. For a quick shift between extremes of points of view, one need look no farther than the opening words of Genesis. We see at first nothing but darkness. We hear the words, “Let there be light”, and soon, light is over all.

A Lesson on Leadership

Jun 29, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Pinehas

World leaders are much in the news these days in France, in India and Pakistan, and of course in the US and in the Middle East. These leaders are being scrutinized every day for their actions or lack of action, for the quality of their character and for their ability to lead their people. Undoubtedly, ;a poll on their effectiveness as leaders would yield varying opinions, but our parashah this week gives us insight into some qualities that a leader should possess.

What Happens to Us After We Die?

Jun 22, 2002 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat

We are challenged to reflect upon death when we read parashat Hukkat/Balak. Our double parashah begins with the elaborate purification ritual for one who has come into contact with a corpse; it ends with Pinchas’ zealous killing of an Israelite man and Midianite woman; and in the middle we learn about the deaths of both Miriam and Aaron. As we confront mortality throughout our Torah reading, it is natural to question Jewish views of the afterlife – a topic which has been the subject of many books of late.

Making Peace on High and on Earth

Jun 22, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Hukkat

Some years ago, during a visit to Japan, I met with a sociology professor at Tokyo University. She mentioned that she had just returned from her first trip to Israel, and I asked what her impressions were. The professor paused for a moment and then said — “The Israelis, they argue a great deal.”

Standing Up

Jun 8, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

At an interfaith conference I attended a number of years ago, — a conference which for the most part was filled with respect and openness — a keynote speaker was an evangelical minister. Addressing an audience of some 200 theological students and their teachers and deans, the minister declared, during his speech, that anyone who had not accepted Jesus into his or her life could never be saved. When the question and answer period started, shaking in my shoes and with my voice breaking, I stood up and said to him — in front of 200 other people, mainly Christian — “If that is your belief, then where does that leave the Jews?”

Vigorous Hands

Jun 8, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

A visitor to Jerusalem is likely to notice a structure more in keeping with the green flatlands of the Netherlands than the golden hills of the Holy City. The windmill established by British philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore was designed to provide sustenance for the Jews of Jerusalem. It sits today in the district called Yemin Moshe, named in honor of Montefiore.

Celebrating Human Initiative

Jun 8, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

A nation’s calendar is a contract between its past and future. What we choose to remember is indicative of what we value. Our calendar is always a projection of our priorities. The subject matter that joins this week’s parashah and haftarah, the conquest of Canaan, sheds some light on why one event and not another embeds itself in our collective memory.

Greed and Power

Jun 5, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Korah

As Tyco International follows Enron and WorldCom into economic oblivion, the media increasingly focus on the bloated compensation packages that reward aggressive C.E.O.s. It is not easy to identify a moral culprit behind opaque accounting procedures. But unmitigated greed is an ancient and outrageous vice.

Honoring Elders

Jun 1, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

Jews have a reputation for being dramatically argumentative. Opinions are pronounced vociferously. Everyone interrupts everyone else. It is perhaps not widely known that interrupting an elder is not only rude but is prohibited by Jewish law. As a religious system, Jewish law legislates about matters outside the bounds of secular law. Matters that secular society sees as ethical, but voluntary, are seen by Judaism as mandatory.

The Meaning of the Shabbat Candles

Jun 1, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Beha'alotekha

If you have ever spent a Shabbat in Jerusalem, you have surely noticed that its imminent arrival is announced by the blowing of a shofar. The stores that are still open then close and the traffic left on the streets virtually halts. The atmosphere of Shabbat increasingly pervades the city. There is no artifice to the shofar; its harsh sound embodies an ancient practice.

Redeeming the Sotah

May 25, 2002 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Naso

This week we read about the disturbing ordeal of the sotah, a woman suspected of adultery by her husband. The elaborate account of the sotah procedure is at once magical and horrifying. The priest concocts a potion, chants a curse, and forces the woman to drink the spell-inducing water which will testify to her guilt or innocence.

Change From Within

May 25, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Naso

The pronounced and unsettling shift to the right in western Europe springs from several sources. But feeding them all is the residual power of the nation–state as a determinative factor in ethnic identity. The mega–trends of immigration, globalization and European unification have triggered in many a deep–seated fear of the loss of their national character.

Counting Pearls

May 11, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Bemidbar

Of the counting of people there seems to be no end! In our parashah, men of fighting age are individually counted first by their families, and then again by their position surrounding the Ohel Mo’ed — the Tent of Meeting or Tabernacle. Why, ask commentators throughout the ages, does God command all this counting? Why is it so important to list in detail and in various forms the 603,550 men age 20 and above, able to fight in the military?

What is a Slave?

May 4, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Behar

Mindfulness of God’s Image

May 4, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Behar | Behukkotai

Though Judaism is distinguished by a this–worldly ethic, the acquisition of material possessions is not a high priority. The singular adage of Ben Zoma from the early days of rabbinic Judaism (second century), became normative: “Who may be deemed rich? Those content with their lot” (Pirkei Avot 4:1). We need far less than we want. To take comfort in what we have is to derive pleasure in values other than wealth.

Explaining the Inexplicable?

Apr 20, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

In speaking of the legal corpus which dominates this week’s double parashah, the Torah makes use of two terms, mishpatim and hukkim, translated as “rules” and “laws.” Technically, as Baruch A. Levine makes clear in his commentary, they reflect two sources of legal practice. The word mishpatim deriving from the root sh-f-t, “to judge,” embodies rules articulated in a judicial setting. Hukkim from the root h-k-k “to engrave” or “inscribe” suggests laws promulgated by decree. In our parashah the terms seem to be synonymous, because God is the only lawgiver: “My rules (mishpatim) alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws (hukkim): I the Lord am your God” (18:4).

Rabbi Akiba, Bar Kokhba, and the State of Israel

Apr 13, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Lag Ba'omer | Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzma'ut

Know from Whence You Come

Apr 13, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Tazria

Commentators throughout the ages have been perplexed as to why a woman who has just given birth is considered by the Torah to be impure, and furthermore, why she needs to bring a sin offering after the birth! (Leviticus 12: 2, 6) After all, isn’t the first commandment given by God to Adam to “be fruitful and multiply”? (Genesis 1:28)

Faith in the Face of Loss

Apr 6, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shemini

Death in old age is sad but not tragic. The pain of loved ones left behind is tempered by the knowledge that this is the way of the world. Thus King David on his deathbed instructs Solomon, his son, soberly: “I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man” (I Kings 2:2). There is no reason to protest. The loss will take resolve to overcome, but the naturalness of the death holds its own comfort.

Sacred Space

Apr 6, 2002 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Shemini