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Judaism’s Message
Aug 9, 2003 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Va'et-hannan | Tishah Be'av
Reenacting an historical moment through liturgy and deed is a forte of Judaism. Our calendar year overflows with holidays and observances that transport us to our former days and inspire us to reenter the narrative and relive salient moments of history. This week in particular, observing the 9th of Av, we read of the destruction of the Temple and continue the mourning of our ancestors for the calamities that befell them. While it is possible to read this narrative as a preventive measure to ensure that we, too, do not fall victims to George Santayana’s dictum condemning us to either learn from our history or repeat it, I believe that Judaism’s message is a blessing, not a curse. It is a blessing for us to be able to relive life’s difficult moments – and the reason why can be gleaned from Moses’ behavior and our parasha this week.
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A Healthy Body
Aug 9, 2003
We are living in a culture captivated by diet and exercise. On the one hand, we could dismiss this American obsession as one manifestation of our materialistic, beauty-conscious society. On the other hand, we could embrace this current cultural focus as one area in which American and Jewish values resonate surely and strongly. This week’s Torah portion suggests a powerful link between Jewish law and the pursuit of health and fitness.
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The Attributes of a Leader
Aug 2, 2003 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Devarim
Much of the Book of Deuteronomy is taken up with Moses’ farewell address to the Israelite nation. He has served his people as their leader in every sphere: military, administrative, judicial and spiritual. Now, he reviews the events of the forty wilderness years, and presents, from his own perspective, a report of how he has led the nation.
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Refining Torah
Aug 2, 2003 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Devarim
The Torah itself, Heschel explains, is a midrash on revelation. As such, the Torah or literally, “the Teaching” is a text that is dependent on reading and re-reading; on commentary and on super-commentary. With each successive reading, we uncover the many layers of meaning that Torah has to offer. This hermeneutical process traces its roots back to the Torah itself and quite explicitly to this week’s parashah, Parashat Devarim.
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The Power of the Spirit
Jul 26, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Masei | Mattot | Tishah Be'av
This week’s parashah finds the Israelites routing the Midianites. The victory is total; the five kings of Midian and all their male subjects meet their death. The Torah appears to go out of its way to inform us that the Israelites “also put Balaam son of Beor to the sword (31:8).” It is a passing detail that triggered the rabbinic imagination. The narrative fragments which constitute the interaction of this pagan prophet with the fate of Israel seem little more than dots waiting to be connected midrashically. A form of reader participation, midrash embellishes the spare story line of Torah narrative. In the process, it tends to give the material a refreshingly moral twist.
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History Does Not Repeat Itself
Jul 26, 2003 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Masei | Mattot
History does not repeat itself. The experience of the past is valuable not so much for its similarity to the present as for its differences.
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A Man of Spirit
Jul 19, 2003 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Pinehas
Who is worthy of assuming Moses’ mantle and carrying the Children of Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land? We learn this week that it shall be Joshua son of Nun. The description of the immanent transfer of power from Moses to Joshua provides a fascinating commentary on the nature of leadership.
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Infusing the World with Holiness
Jul 12, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
After two impressive victories against the Canaanites of the Negeb and the Amorites in Transjordan, the looming military might of Israel throws the leaders of Moab into a panic. Only the land of the Moabites separates Israel from the Jordan River and the conquest of Canaan. Balak ben Zippor, King of Moab, knows that he is next. In desperation, he takes recourse in an unconventional pre-emptive measure. He summons Balaam son of Beor, a sorcerer from Mesopotamia to curse Israel, making it susceptible to defeat on the battlefield. Though Balaam comes, God frustrates the plan. Within the monotheistic framework of the Torah, Balaam can utter only what God imparts to him. Hence he ends up in rapturous praise of Israel, to the consternation of Balak.
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Words Are Sacred
Jul 12, 2003 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
Words are sacred. I remember the sanctity of words being inculcated in me as a high school student. My history teacher, Mr. Reilly, an admired, knowledgeable and articulate pedagogue (not to even mention his black belt in karate), instilled within us the fear of God with regard to proper attribution of words. His definition of plagiarism was ‘two or more words copied and unattributed.’ I remember being shocked by this Puritan definition, but it also instilled a respect for the written word. So valued are words that numerous violations, in addition to plagiarism, are attributed to their misuse. On occasions, words are distorted – in transmission, either knowingly or unknowingly; such distortion leads to the promulgation of lies and deception. And words are used to hurt – to curse, to destroy, and to instigate.
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The Book of Quarrels
Jul 5, 2003 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Korah
The fourth book of the Torah, which we know by the title Book of Numbers or, in Hebrew, Bemidbar (“in the wilderness”) might also be called the book of quarrels. It tells of recurring arguments and rebellions by the Israelites against Moses and God. The most serious of these is the rebellion of Korah, a cousin of Moses and Aaron who questioned their leadership of the nation.
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My Grandfather’s Tallit
Jun 28, 2003 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Shelah Lekha
When I close my eyes to picture my grandfather, he is standing beside a long olive green bookcase, swaying and shokeling, his slight frame enfolded within his tallit, tefillin protruding from his forehead and wrapped about his arm, deeply engaged in conversation with God. At those moments, it always seemed that he had been transported to a different place and time. Perhaps it was that magic cape, I thought, the one with the strings attached. As a little girl, I yearned to wear a tallit, and so it is no surprise that some of my fondest childhood memories are of sitting with my grandfather in shul on Shabbat and sharing his tallit. Throughout the service, I would play with the tzitzit, enjoying the feel of the fringes as they slipped between my fingers, methodically adding new knots and removing them again before the conclusion of the service, each knot a blessing for myself or my family. My grandfather was a humble man, dedicated to his store, his family, and his God. He embodied a love for education and humanity. I knew that those cornerstones of his existence were somehow bound up within those carefully constructed knots.
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Rabbi Akiva’s Adult Bar-Mitzvah
Jun 21, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Beha'alotekha
One of the most compelling new rituals in the Conservative synagogue is the adult bat–mitzvah. The impulse is egalitarian, the result religious empowerment. The women who participate enjoyed no bat–mitzvah ceremony in their youth. Years later they seek to fill the void. Usually in small groups of up to a dozen, they study with their rabbi and cantor for a period of at least two years. The practice is so widespread today that the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism has produced a carefully articulated curriculum to enhance the meaningfulness of the experience. Learning to read Hebrew is required. Biblically based yet religiously encompassing, the study period culminates in the preparation of a specific parashah and haftarah to be chanted in the synagogue on a Shabbat morning. There is definitely comfort in numbers. Doing the bat–mitzvah as a group lessens the tension of performing in public. Each participant must master only a part of the whole.
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The Dangers of Religious Surrogacy
Jun 14, 2003 By Joshua Heller | Commentary | Naso
This week’s parashah, Naso, includes one of Judaism’s most time–honored liturgical texts, the priestly blessing.
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Choosing a Different Jewish Path
Jun 14, 2003 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Naso
Two weeks ago, one of my students remarked that it is difficult to be a student of Torah. When he told a friend of his that he learns Torah on a regular basis, the friend responded in an astonishing and belittling way: “What are you, some kind of born-again Jew?” After hearing of this student’s experience, I conducted my own informal survey asking other students how friends and family have responded to their personal journeys of Jewish learning. Across the board, I was told that the perception was negative.
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Birth and the Giving of the Torah
Jun 7, 2003 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Shavuot
As I write these words, I am waiting for the imminent birth of a child which my husband and I hope to adopt.
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Why We Eat Dairy on Shavu’ot
Jun 7, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shavuot
The menu for the first day of Shavuot is customarily restricted to dairy dishes. While a plethora of explanations has been generated to account for the practice, I prefer the most serious one. Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the governing covenant between God and Israel, the constitution of the Jewish polity. The event marks the adoption of a religious regimen that would henceforth define the borders of individual and group behavior. That to which the Israelites were formerly entitled is no longer permitted.
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Ritual Obligations and Moral Lessons
Jun 5, 2003 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Korah
A colleague and friend who shares my fascination with golf as well as my plague of performing poorly, recently gifted me with a book entitled, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect.
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Wilderness into Lakes
May 31, 2003 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Bemidbar
Eden was a well–watered place. The Bible and science agree that in the beginning, the world was moist and fluid. Unlike science, the Bible is literature, and literature with a message. It embodies themes and concerns itself with the interplay of those themes.
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The World-to-Come
May 24, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Behukkotai
The penultimate chapter of Leviticus consists of a divine plea to heed God’s commandments. It takes the form of inducements and intimidations, promises of agricultural bounty and national tranquility and threats of defeat, chaos and exile. The future of ancient Israel in its homeland will depend entirely on its adherence to the revelation at Sinai. Aside form the poetry of the passage, its rhetoric pulsates with a tone of urgency. Free will has its risks; people may choose to put themselves in harm’s way. Rebellion against the strictures of God is the persistent evil that endangers society.
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The Value of Human Beings
May 24, 2003 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Behukkotai
The final chapter of the Book of Leviticus deals with voluntary contributions to the Sanctuary. In dedication to the Temple, one might pledge the value of one’s life or the life of another person. The beginning of Leviticus 27 addresses the question of how to determine the value of a person in order to fulfill such a vow.
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