The Soul of Torah

The Soul of Torah

Jan 25, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Yitro

Christianity turns on the doctrine of incarnation as formulated famously by the Gospel of John: “So the Word became flesh; he came to dwell among us, and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (1:14). It is a doctrine that Jews tend to identify as uniquely Christian. Whereas both Judaism and Christianity equally acknowledged that at creation “the Word dwelt with God” (1:1) as both wisdom and instrument, Judaism refrained from ever endowing it with human form. Though valid, the distinction does not preclude the appearance in Judaism of the doctrine. For Judaism, the Word became incarnate as book.

Read More
Pesah vs. Easter

Pesah vs. Easter

Apr 19, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Pesah

The overlapping this year of Easter and Passover, of the Christian Holy Week with our eight-day celebration of Passover merits attention. Unlike the yoking of Christmas and Hanukkah, Easter and Passover are festivals of equal gravity. Side by side they bring to light the deep structures of both religions.

Read More
Abraham: Knight of Many Faiths

Abraham: Knight of Many Faiths

Oct 23, 2004 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Lekh Lekha

It is hard to reconcile the glaring gap between promise and fulfillment in the story of Abraham.

Read More
A Jewish-Buddhist Understanding of Holiness

A Jewish-Buddhist Understanding of Holiness

May 3, 2008 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Kedoshim

Leon Wieseltier, in a recent column in The New Republic about diversity at Harvard, commented about the church bells he heard growing up on Avenue O.

Read More
A Painful Embrace

A Painful Embrace

Dec 10, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Vayishlah

Rarely do I find a midrash like the one above that reflects love and hate, admiration and anger, in a single passage about how Jews relate to Christians. While the two rabbis quoted here agree that a peculiar scribal feature is crucial to understanding Jacob and Esau’s reunion, they fundamentally disagree about what that detail signifies.

Read More
The Righteous Convert Of Vilna

The Righteous Convert Of Vilna

May 21, 2014 By David Fishman | Short Video | Shavuot

Read More
The Problem With The Convert

The Problem With The Convert

May 21, 2014 By David C. Kraemer | Short Video | Shavuot

Read More
What The Rabbis Of The Talmud Learned From Naomi And Ruth

What The Rabbis Of The Talmud Learned From Naomi And Ruth

May 21, 2014 By Judith Hauptman | Short Video | Shavuot

Read More