Tag: David

Regarding the positive Torah commandment to pray, Rambam writes, "This commandment obligates each person to offer supplication and prayer every day and utter praises of the Holy One, blessed be He; then petition for all his needs with requests and supplications; and finally, give praise and thanks to God for the goodness that He has bestowed upon him - each one according to his own ability" (Mishneh Torah 1:2).

Upon entering Lloyd Bloom's exhibition at the Chassidic Art Institute one is confronted by the sweet beautiful image of a lamb skipping through the air in a puffy cloud landscape. Right next to it is an image of a goat kid cuddled up in the lap of a young shepherd. Further down the wall we see paintings depicting a young man leining from the Torah, then women lighting Shabbos candles and finally a father and son at the seder table, all candidates to be the most emblematic scene of Jewish life imaginable.

Megilas Ruth narrates the origins of King David, who was born on Shavuos, who died on Shavuos and whose offspring, Mashiach ben David, we hope to greet soon. In the third chapter, Boaz awakens on the threshing floor to find a woman lying at his feet. In the darkness, Ruth explains her mission. Boaz replies, "There is a closer redeemer than I. Stay the night. In the morning, I will go to the city gate. If the closer redeemer will redeem you, well and good. But if not - Chai Hashem! - I will redeem you!"

Little did artist Nechama Farber know, when growing up in Minsk, Belarus, that some day she would yearn to live in Israel, become an artist, sell her Judaic paintings, drawings and prints internationally, be commission to create portraits for Jewish families, and, most noteworthy, create an original painting for one of the most grandiose synagogues in Eastern Europe, the 102 year old Riga Synagogue in Latvia.

Dear Rahm and David, I'm writing this as I sit and watch, live via the Internet, the ceremony marking the rededication of the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem, in the area you would classify "east Jerusalem," or "disputed territory," or perhaps "occupied territory."

In one of the most complex and controversial of biblical narratives, the book of 2 Samuel recounts an almost operatic moment in which Uriah the Hittite, husband of Batsheva, was instructed by King David to unknowingly carry his own death sentence to the Jewish general Yoav (Joab). Had Uriah betrayed his king's confidence and opened the letter, he could have surely have escaped death.

In one of the most complex and controversial of biblical narratives, the book of 2 Samuel recounts an almost operatic moment in which Uriah the Hittite, husband of Batsheva, was instructed by King David to unknowingly carry his own death sentence to the Jewish general Yoav (Joab). Had Uriah betrayed his king's confidence and opened the letter, he could have surely have escaped death.

Perhaps upholding Leviticus 19:31, which insists, "Do not turn to those who worship Ob or to wizards; do not desire to become defiled by them,"

The Sistine Secrets by Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner raises many intriguing issues about one of the most important works of Western art and its creator, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564) as first presented in my review on August 29.

It was late afternoon on Yom Yerushalayim. We were enjoying a clear, cool, beautiful Yerushalayim day as we walked into Ir Dovid, the historic City of David. We passed the newest excavations and walked down the stone steps leading to the ruins and the older excavations of the City of David. We sat in the amphitheater near the base of the hill.

The off-duty soldier who recently killed the terrorist on the bulldozer reminds me of the biblical David - and not only because he stormed the Goliath bulldozer with a pistol borrowed from a nearby policeman.

An Interview With Holocaust Chronicler Stuart Mirsky

As an artist, when I visit a museum I relish the opportunity to soak up a gamut of aesthetic experiences; the wonderful array of visual and intellectual stimulation that characterizes looking at any kind of art.

Light and shadow typically assume moral implications in literature, where light is often divine and dark symbolizes the unknown and the scary.

When the prophet Nathan woke up in the morning and saw his to-do list for the day - rebuke the king of Israel for his sin with Bathsheba - did he hit his snooze alarm and try, like the prophet Jonah, to shirk his duty?

      Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio (1571-1610) was well acquainted with evil. His short violent life careened wildly between prestigious painting commissions from the most powerful men...

A man passes out in the street. A woman is in an accident. A senior suffers a heart attack.

Man's use of "Time" is an artificial system that has been invented as a template to place over nature for convenience.

Shavuot marks the birthday of King David and for this reason it is customary in many communities to read Megillat Ruth since Ruth was his great-grandmother.

Not Convinced By Plaut I always enjoy Steven Plaut's articles in The Jewish Press and until last week ("Israel's Plague of Conspiracism," front-page essay)...

Walking out of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C. the stench of mass murder was overpowering.

There seems to be a whole group of people who have little or no knowledge of early aliyah from America, but who insist on making ridiculous statements about us.

The protagonist in this engrossing murder mystery, David Hirsch, is an attorney who has served eight years in federal prison for his white-collar crimes, including phony billing charges to many of his former clients.

It is difficult and expensive to make old institutions accessible to wheelchairs.

Artists have a way of calling attention to the things we really need to see.

Artists have a way of calling attention to the things we really need to see. Their sensitivity and funny way of thinking shake us up, and demand that we take notice.

Even now - even after thousands of Israeli men, women and children have been systematically dismembered and murdered by the most barbarous terrorist movement in recent memory - much of the world remains willfully impervious to what is true in the Middle East.

QUESTION: I recently attended a lecture where the speaker discussed great Jewish women in history. He specifically singled out the biblical heroine Rahab who, he said, married the great leader and prophet Joshua.I had previously heard that Rahab was a woman of ill repute, a harlot, who surely was not suitable for a righteous person like Joshua. Also, when Rahab is mentioned (Joshua ch. 2), there is no indication that she married Joshua. How do we know it?Sandy Hart(Via e-mail)

This week the Monitor hands the ball to The Weekly Standard, which in its Sept. 10 issue featured a transcript of a conversation between a caller identified as "David from Minneapolis" and Diana Nyad, the host of "Savvy Traveler," a Minnesota Public Radio show.