We Are All Borrowers
May 13, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Behar
I love discovering rabbinic texts like the one above that make such radical claims about Torah and God in general or about particular laws like tzedakah (righteous giving), one subject at the heart of this week’s Torah portion.
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The Idolatry of Stasis
Jun 11, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Beha'alotekha
Only in Hebrew leap years does Shavu’ot coincide with Parashat Beha’alotekha, but every day we are faced with the challenges that this midrash addresses.
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The Person You Are Now
Oct 23, 2010 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Vayera
“Innocent until proven guilty” approximates God’s judgment of Ishmael in the midrash above.
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Jealousy for the Right Reasons
Nov 11, 2010 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Vayetzei
When I struggled with infertility, the jealousy of our barren matriarchs was a great comfort.
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The Distraction of Bickering
Dec 11, 2010 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Vayiggash
In an age in which bickering about halakhah—its particulars and its generalities—has become the Achilles’ heel of the Jewish community, Rabbi Elazar’s words resound.
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The Ancestral Roots of our Morals
May 21, 2011 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Vayikra
How wonderful to derive a great lesson from such a simple turn of phrase.
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Who We Are and Where We’re Going
Nov 20, 2010 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Vayishlah
Can we ever break free from the troubled darkness of our past?
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Of God and Man
Jan 16, 2011 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Yitro
When I was little, my best friend and I shared a favorite game of Barbie dolls.
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