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Words of Prayer: New and Old
Oct 9, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
“What Page Are We on in the Prayer Book Blues” is a lighthearted song made famous by a pair of Orthodox artists in the 1980s called the Megama Duo (start at 3 minutes and 22 seconds in the linked video). The song would never have become as (in)famous as it was if the experience of “not being able to find the place” was unfamiliar. But, on the contrary, we have all been there, and it’s good to laugh at, and with, ourselves. When we do find the place in our prayer books, we see lines and paragraphs and pages of text, and it is often hard to find ourselves in the words.
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God As an Ally
Oct 9, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
A journey of four thousand years begins with God’s command to Abraham.
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A Jew’s Best Friend? The Image of the Dog Throughout Jewish History
Oct 7, 2013 By Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event audio
Philip I. Ackerman-Liebrman, assistant professor of Jewish Studies and Law, as well as affiliated assistant professor of Islamic Studies and History, at Vanderbilt University, delivered a JTS Library Book talk on October 7th, on his new book, A Jew’s Best Friend? The Image of the Dog throughout Jewish History.
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Why Did God Flood the World?
Oct 1, 2013 By Alan Cooper | Commentary | Noah
The end of Parashat Bereishit finds God regretting the creation of humankind and resolving to wipe it out along with “beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky” (Gen. 6:7). A note of optimism creeps into the concluding verse (6:8), however, with the statement that Noah, whose birth and naming were noted in 5:29, “found favor” with God.
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The Noah of Genesis and the Noah of the Rabbis
Oct 1, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Noah
Parashat Noah, the Torah reading for this coming Shabbat, is renowned for the annual debate on Noah’s character that is sparked by the opening verse.
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Simhat Torah: Which Way When the Circle Ends
Sep 23, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Simhat Torah
The annual celebration of Simhat Torah brings great joy to so many of us of all generations, and it is a fitting and triumphant conclusion to the long and multifaceted season of intense Jewish observance and focus that began (a little before Rosh Hashanah) with Selichot. In Israel and in congregations observing a single day of festivals, Simhat Torah is blended with Shemini Atzeret, offering the intense experience in the morning of Hallel, Hakkafot (processions with dancing) and Geshem (the prayer for Rain).
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Bereishit with a Capital Bet
Sep 22, 2013 By David Marcus | Commentary | Bereishit
With this week’s parashah, we once again commence the cycle of reading the Torah from the first chapter of Genesis, which begins with the Hebrew word bereishit.
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Mastery = Harmony
Sep 22, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bereishit
This coming Shabbat, we return to the beginning of Torah with Parashat Bereishit.
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The Fruits of Close Reading
Sep 16, 2013 By Robert Harris | Commentary | Sukkot
“In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Lev. 23:43).
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Welcome Guests—Visible and . . .
Sep 16, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Sukkot
The sukkah is fragile and temporary, yet stands as a symbol of joy and celebration. Rabbi Reuven Hammer, in his commentary Or Hadash (Siddur Sim Shalom, 331), reminds us of a debate about the meaning of Leviticus 23:43 (“You shall live in Sukkot for seven days . . . in order that future generations will recall that I made the Israelite People dwell in Sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt”): “Rabbi Eliezer said that [these sukkot] were clouds of glory and Rabbi Akiba said they were actual huts (B. Sukkah 11b).”
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The Ritual of Waters
Sep 16, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Sukkot
The festival of Sukkot is known as Z’man Simhateinu, the time of our rejoicing.
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Taking What Isn’t Ours
Sep 11, 2013 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Yom Kippur
It’s not literally a skeleton in my closet, but I was still upset to find it hanging there.
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Ne‘ilah: Final Closing, or Not Quite?
Sep 11, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Yom Kippur
“P’tach lanu sha’ar” (Keep open the gate for us) are the words of a fragment of a piyyut attributed to Elazar Kallir (6th century, Land of Israel) [see the Rabbinical Assembly’s Mahzor Lev Shalem, 414].
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The Discipline of Atonement
Sep 11, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Yom Kippur
This coming Shabbat culminates the period of aseret yamei teshuvah, the ten days of repentance, as we commemorate Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
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It’s All Torah
Sep 3, 2013 By Danielle Upbin | Commentary | Ha'azinu
Years ago, when I was a student living in the mystical city of Safed in Israel’s Northern District, a teacher of mine asked our group of young seekers, “What is the most important book in your life?”
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Zichronot (Memories)
Sep 3, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah
In the three great themes of Rosh Hashanah, the encounter with memories (zichronot) is nestled between the power of sovereignty (malchuyot) and the triumphant, enigmatic sound of the shofar (shofarot). Zichronot reminds us that each of us is remembered, that our acts are significant, that we come, each of us individually, into the divine presence. In spite of the massive processing power of our machines, there are problems that cannot be solved—even if every computer on earth were to be harnessed in parallel.
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Finding God and Ourselves Anew
Sep 3, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur
During the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we devote ourselves to the process of repentance, attempting to tip the balance in our favor as we approach the Day of Atonement.
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To What Shall We Return?
Aug 28, 2013 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh
As we engage in teshuvah, (re)turning to the deep, soulful place hidden beneath the barriers we erect for others and ourselves, we must ask ourselves to what we are returning and how that relocation will manifest itself in our lives.
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Selichot: Body, Soul . . . “Will You Hear My Voice?”
Aug 28, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
This coming Saturday night in (Ashkenazi) synagogues around the world, congregations gather for the beginning of Selichot, the prayers and poems that inspire and guide us to seek forgiveness. Many of us will spend hours in the coming weeks turning through pages of ancient (and modern) words, hearing melodies and chants that have served so well as the pathway for the journey of the soul.
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Moving Forward Meaningfully
Aug 28, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Nitzavim | Vayeilekh | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur
The parashiyot of Nitzavim–Vayeilekh are intimately woven into the rhythm of the liturgical year as they are typically read either immediately preceding Rosh Hashanah or during the intervening Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
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