“This Is Water” and This Is Joy
Oct 18, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Sukkot
There is an almost organic progression from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. However, when we get caught up in preparations for the holidays, we risk missing the intended effect. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur we work on deconstructing ourselves and our worlds. We stand together and seek to expose our inner selves, leaving us vulnerable and open. The language of Yom Kippur prepares us for this feeling—we are not atoning for our sins as we do at the beginning of Leviticus when the laws of sacrifice are first introduced, but on another level altogether. As we learn during our Torah reading, on Yom Kippur we atone from sin (Lev. 16:30). Through the day we literally achieve a level of purity—during the S’lichot and Avodah services we recite over and over again the verse, “on this day we are purified.” At the end of Ne‘ilah, we are left spiritually lighter.
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How Do We Experience the Season of Freedom?
Apr 14, 2007 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Pesah
Freedom in biblical and rabbinic Judaism is a highly complex idea.
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Redemption: Israel’s Partnership with God
Mar 31, 2007 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol
The first teaching attributed to Hillel in Tractate Avot is the following: “Be one of Aaron’s disciples, one who loves peace and pursues it, one who loves one’s fellow human beings and brings them near to the Torah.”
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The Poetry of Forgiveness
Sep 30, 2006 By Stephen P. Garfinkel | Commentary | Shabbat Shuvah
Poetry is the soul of religion.
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Lighting a Candle Before God
Dec 27, 2003 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Hanukkah
As the menorah shines with all eight candles on this Shabbat Hanukkah, I am inspired to reflect on the powerful spiritual metaphor of light in the Jewish tradition. Light is one of the enduring symbols for God in our sacred texts
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The Lesson of the First Fruits
Sep 20, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Ki Tavo
Remarkably, no pedestrian injuries have been recorded to date.
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New Beginnings
Sep 13, 2008 By David M. Ackerman | Commentary | Ki Tetzei
September marks new beginnings. Summer’s over, school years have begun, heavy traffic has returned to the roads, the new cultural season is underway.
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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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