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Portraits of Grief
Dec 29, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayehi
At the end of a tumultuous life, Jacob dies what was once called “a good death.” Two things are granted him: the time to prepare for his death and the comfort of dying in the midst of family. In his 147th year, as his life forces ebb, he exacts a promise from Joseph not to bury him in Egypt, but in the ancestral burial ground in Hebron. He bestows on Joseph an extra portion over that of his brothers by elevating his sons, Ephraim and Menasseh, to a status equal to that of Joseph’s brothers. And he shares with each of his own sons portents of things to come, concluding with the repetition of his wish to be laid to rest in the cave of Machpelah. In short, Jacob dies unwracked by pain, with his wits about him and nothing left unsaid. The final verse of his biography conveys a sense of closure and completion: “When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathing his last, he was gathered to his people” (49:33).
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A Model of Restraint
Dec 29, 2001 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Vayehi
The end of the Book of Genesis also marks the end of the stories of Jacob and Joseph. Though separated for many years, their life—courses moved together. Both were younger sons who gained primacy over older brothers. Jacob, in his last days, is determined to bequeath to his son, Joseph, directly that which he had gotten from his father Isaac stealthily. He begins by adopting Joseph’s two sons as his own, thus giving Joseph the double portion of inheritance that usually goes to the oldest son. Jacob then gives his testament to all his sons.
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Free Will?
Dec 22, 2001 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Vayiggash
It is commonly accepted that Judaism teaches free choice. Human beings can choose their behaviors and are responsible for those choices. The source for this teaching is traced directly to the Torah:
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The Search for Torah
Dec 22, 2001 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Vayiggash
Imagine that you have just been reunited with your long-lost beloved child. For years, your days were full of grief as you mourned his tragic loss. Now you have not only learned of his miraculous existence, but you have also discovered his incredible success. His political and economic accomplishments will ensure the future safety and security of you and your entire family during a period of hardship and despair. After an emotional reunion, your wildly successful son brings you to meet his boss, the ruler of the nation. When the king asks you how you are doing, what do you say?
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The Fortitude of the Jewish Soul
Dec 15, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah
This year I will not be celebrating Hanukkah at home. I’m off to Israel on December 6, and will not be back till the seventh day of the festival, just in time to light a full complement of eight candles on the last night in the midst of family. It is hard to capture the beauty of this holiday or any other on your own. Neither synagogue nor prayer begins to exhaust the repertoire of ritual that enlivens the distinctive character of every Jewish holy day. The home is the great aquifer of our Judaism, indispensable but undervalued.
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Lighting the Way
Dec 15, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Hanukkah
The traditional greeting for Hanukkah, Hag Urim Sameah, Happy Festival of Lights, speaks to the essence of our holiday observance — urim — which is the plural of the Hebrew ‘or’ meaning light. Indeed, rabbinic commentary underscores this plurality of light in alluding to three different and complementary sources of light: a light of creation, a light of revelation, and a light of redemption.
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The Refuge of Judaism
Dec 8, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayeshev | Hanukkah
In his richly thoughtful one-volume History of the Jews in Modern Times, Professor Lloyd P. Gartner observes that “few Jews in the world of 1950 lived in the city or country where their grandparents had lived in 1880” (p. 213). Like the rest of the world, Jews in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were on the move, to burgeoning cities in the countries where they lived or to lands abroad that beckoned with opportunity. By 1915, the Jewish population in the United States had mushroomed from 280,000 to 3,197,000.
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Legislating Intimacy
Dec 1, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayishlah
Judaism is not an ascetic religion. It makes no virtue of mortifying the flesh. At the end of Shabbat, a day devoted to the renewal of body and soul, we ask God not only to forgive our sins, but also to increase the number of our children and our financial assets.
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Between Rachel and Jeremiah
Nov 24, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayetzei
According to our parashah, the world turns on the principle of measure for measure. Our misdeeds are repaid in kind. A noble end can never be justified by ignoble means. The deception that Jacob worked on his sightless father to strip his older brother of the blessing and status of the first–born son is now wrought on him by his uncle. In Laban, Jacob has met his match; if anything, a rival who exceeds him in gall and cunning.
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A Strategy of Inclusion
Nov 17, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Toledot
The disputes over water rights between Isaac and the King of Gerar have a contemporary ring. Beyond the current Intifada looms the persistent shortage of water that threatens Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians alike. With the Kinneret at its lowest ebb ever and aquifers depleted and increasingly polluted, the region’s bitter adversaries are at least united in their hopes for a rainy winter.
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The Mitzvah of Welcoming Guests
Nov 10, 2001 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
On our honeymoon in Jerusalem, almost ten years ago, my husband and I decided to attend Shabbat morning services at a Conservative minyan in the Baka neighborhood of the city. We didn’t know anyone personally in theminyan , but we had heard the davening was nice, intimate and egalitarian. We were not disappointed.
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Learning Through Torah
Nov 3, 2001 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Vayera
The five books that form the most sacred writings of the Jews are called by various names in various languages. Only the Hebrew name conveys exactly the content and not just the structure of these books. “Torah” means teaching. One of the aspects of the Torah that has made it so compelling for so many people over so long a time is that it not only is a teaching but teaches about teaching. The Torah, in its own terms, is both God’s teaching for human beings and the handbook for people to teach each other.
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The Ongoing Processes of Creation
Oct 27, 2001 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
Parashat Lekh L’kha is the story of God’s covenant with Abraham and, by extension, with all future Israelite generations. The climax of this story is the mitzvah of circumcision. Few mitzvot in our tradition have elicited the enduring commitment and unwavering observance of the majority of our people as has the ritual of circumcision. Few mitzvot have yielded the intensity of emotion and fascination which pervades any brit milah.
In the Shadow of 9/11
Oct 20, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Noah
One of the lessons we have derived from the events of our time is that we cannot dwell at ease under the sun of our civilization, that man is the least harmless of all beings. We feel how every minute in our civilization is packed with tension like the interlude between lightning and thunder. Man has not advanced very far from the coast of chaos.
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Sukkot-A Festival of Water
Oct 2, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Sukkot
The joy of Sukkot is offset by a pervasive concern about water. As we give thanks for the harvest just completed, we begin to worry about the bounty of the next one. But be mindful: it is the rainfall in Israel of which we speak.
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Good in the Face of Evil
Sep 27, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Pinehas | Yom Kippur
Recent events infuse words long cherished with unexpected meaning. In the days of the Temple, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies but once a year on Yom Kippur. As the repository for the Torah, it precluded easy access.
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A Message for 9/11
Sep 17, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah
When the high priest in the days of the Temple emerged from the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, he intoned a special prayer for those inhabitants of ancient Israel who lived at heightened risk from natural catastrophes, that “their homes might not become their graves.”
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Lost Property and Lost Souls
Sep 1, 2001 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Ki Tetzei
It is easy to get lost amid the lengthy list of laws in this week’s Torah portion. In this way, parashat Ki Tetse represents many of our experiences with Jewish learning. Where do I begin? There is so much here to learn! In fact, serious Jewish learning has traditionally begun with a focus on one of the laws found in this week’s parashah.
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Searching for God
Aug 18, 2001 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Re'eh
Spirituality has become the romantic goal of individuals thirsting in pursuit of deeper religious meaning. And while spirituality means something different to everyone, much of the American Jewish community has come to associate the pursuit of spirituality with the study of our mystical tradition, kabbalah. Kabbalah, it is believed, offers a direct and intimate pathway to God. So, not surprisingly, kabbalah centers (many of them peddling inauthentic and simplistic versions of the true kabbalistic tradition) have sprung up in Jewish communities across the country – attracting large numbers of affiliated as well as non-affiliated Jews, significant numbers of non-Jews, and a handful of superstars like Madonna. What accounts for the popularity of kabbalah today? It is the inviting promise of immediate spiritual fulfillment and unification with a tangible, accessible divinity that attracts such large numbers. What many of these people fail to understand is that according to the sages, kabbalah is one of the final stages of a lifetime devoted to Jewish learning, not the entry point.
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The Love of Israel
Aug 11, 2001 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Eikev
I cannot read certain verses from Parashat Ekev dispassionately this year. Not only is the prose of the Torah magnificently beautiful (as it is in much of Deuteronomy), but I have recently returned from a two week visit to Israel, and have personally witnessed almost all the bounties mentioned in these verses. My husband, 2–year old son, brother (a first–time visitor) and I walked through the lushness of Tel Dan in the north, and couldn’t help but be struck by the abundant flow of cool, clear water – even in the middle of July, and even at a time when Israel is suffering a major water shortage. In the dry, Negev desert, we observed the deep gorges which swell with water during the winter season. We saw countless date palm trees (the source of biblical “honey”), banana trees and olive trees in different parts of the country. We observed the green figs growing on the fig trees, and the vines being readied for the growth of grapes. We saw the fields which had been harvested for wheat, and we floated in the mineral rich Dead Sea. Living in a time where exaggeration and hyperbole run rampant, it was wonderful to see that the bountiful promises of the Torah about the Land of Israel are as true today as they were thousands of years ago.
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