Parts of a Whole

Feb 20, 2013 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Tetzavveh | Purim

A strange fact about being human: we never see any object in its entirety. We perceive in three dimensions, but see only in two so that our seeing is always at the mercy of our believing.

Meaning in Métier

Mar 6, 2013 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Pekudei | Vayak-hel

The midrash suggests that the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was given not because God needed such a thing, but to show the world—Israelites included—that the Israelites had been forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. It is curious, though, that such a gesture would be given as a do-it-yourself assignment.

Animal Sacrifice on an iPad: Finding Meaning in Va-yikra

Mar 13, 2013 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Vayikra

I would like to offer three of the many approaches to Va-yikra that might help infuse our reading of the book with meaning beyond flying goats and calves.

The Light of Passover

Mar 25, 2013 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Pesah

Why did the Rabbis use the word light when they intended darkness? The Hebrew word leila (לילה) would certainly have worked. Why did the Rabbis not say what they meant?

Being Holy in the 21st Century

Apr 25, 2014 By Gerald C. Skolnik | Commentary | Kedoshim

If I were challenged to present a one-sentence, pithy articulation of the overarching responsibility of a Jew in this world, I would be hard pressed to find abetter phrasing than the second verse of this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Kedoshim: “Kedoshim tih’yu, ki kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheikhem”(Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy).