Praying for Rain
Sep 25, 1995 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Sukkot
Rainfall has been sparse this summer in much of the northeast, and the reservoirs of New York City are some 24% lower than normal for this time of year.
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Vulnerability and Joy
Oct 10, 2009 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Shemini Atzeret | Sukkot
How do we make sense of two of the central narratives of the holiday of Sukkot that seemingly point us in different emotional directions?
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The Species of Israel
Aug 27, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Eikev
This past summer, I walked through a dream. I had the blessing, along with Rabbi David Hoffman, of leading a very special group through the length and breadth of the Land of Israel. Some forty-two leaders from Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico – many of them students of the JTS Kollot: Voices of Learning program – joined together in the presence of Chancellor Ismar Schorsch to journey through Jewish tradition and text. With Tanakh in hand, we began our journey at Beit Hatefuzot, The Museum of the Diaspora. There we were treated to a bird’s eye view of Jewish history. The following morning, we embarked on an expansive and emotional ten-day trek, in which we encountered the biblical, Rabbinic, medieval, and modern periods. More than a mission, this experience was a pilgrimage that animated Torah. And nowhere did this encounter come alive more than at Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel.
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A Fertile Land
Aug 16, 2003 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Eikev
The themes of fertility and barrenness are central to the biblical narrative. It is striking how often we encounter barren women in the Bible. Sarah, the women of Abimelekh’s household, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah’s wife, Hannah, and the Shunamite woman are all examples of barren women whose wombs are opened by God. Clearly, the process of reproduction holds a key to biblical theology. The very covenant of Israel is presented as a brit of fertility. God promises Abram, “This is my covenant with you. You shall be the father of a multitude of nations…I will make you exceedingly fertile.”
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The Botanical Menorah
Jun 18, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Beha'alotekha
A central image of this week’s parashah is the seven-branched menorah, which was lit in the Israelites’ journey in the desert and later in the Temple. This ancient symbol turns our thoughts to Shabbat, and also toward the land of Israel.
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A Bridge Between Heaven and Earth
May 28, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Behukkotai
Fertility of humans and of the land is the essence of divine blessing. It is the theme of the first commandment of Torah – to be fruitful and multiply – the sacred wish of each ancestral pair in their desire to see the next generation, and the divine promise for the loyal observance of mitzvot. Parashat B’hukkotai opens in this vein, with a condition and the promise of God’s blessing. The two opening verses of ourparashah speak of the harmony between heaven and earth, the bridges between the two, and the necessity for each of us to view ourselves as a sacred link.
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The Gift of Uncertainty
May 13, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Emor
Israel is a land almost wholly dependent on the heavens above. As such, concern for one’s crops is a dominant theme through the biblical and rabbinic periods. Far from being a land irrigated by a river flowing through its length as Egypt, Israel is dependent on the rains above — and the winds below. Accordingly, this week’s Parashat Emor delineates the calendar year and very specifically addresses the period in which we find ourselves — the counting of the Omer from Passover to Shavu’ot.
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The Sanctity of the Land
Apr 30, 1994 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Emor | Pesah | Shavuot | Sukkot
At the new Jewish Museum one can feast on the panorama of Jewish history in a single spectacular, permanent exhibition, subtly conceived and brilliantly executed. It opens with a replica of an ancient agrarian calendar found in 1908 at Gezer, northwest of Jerusalem in the Shefela region. Written in good biblical Hebrew, the calendar seems to date from the 10th century B.C.E., coinciding with the reign of Solomon, when Gezer became part of the expanding monarchy of Israel. The calendar may not be anything more than a mnemonic ditty for children, and yet it is a cultural artifact of rich significance.
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