Celebration in the Shadow of Death
Rebbe Akiva. He is the Jewish hero par excellence, which means that, on some level, his life story encapsulates the values and ideals of the Jewish people. And yet, perhaps not coincidentally, he lived in the shadow of death.
Making Pesach with Our Hands
Involving our bodies in the holiness of looking for chametz or preparing for Shabbat is something that can become a habit. That is not to say that we shouldn’t use our minds to superimpose even greater meaning on these actions while we perform them. But it does mean that accustoming our bodies to do good things has value unto itself
Why Do People So Dislike Tachanun
More than one scholar has noted the absence of self-critique in ancient literature of all peoples except the Jews.
Fragmentation, G-d, and the Western Jew
the Talmud speaks about His presence moving away from the Temple only gradually during its last days. So would it not have made more sense for G-d’s presence to also come down gradually while the Tabernacle was being builtT
Preparing for a Spring Wedding… to God
It seems like no coincidence, then, that we read Esther and Ruth at the beginning and end of this period in the year.
Ahava Mekalkel HaShura
Nadav and Avihu don’t only teach us about how to relate to God, but also how to relate to each other
Higher Fences and Better Cell Phones
Perhaps it is the nature of debate that blinds many from the wisdom of the opposing position, but our sages clearly advocated both approaches simultaneously.
Parents, Teachers, and the Image of G-d
There is one great payback to mentoring. It brings one a certain type of immortality even in this world.
Redeeming Relevance: The Importance of Being Alone
" I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Henry David Thoreau
The Subversive Jewish Wisdom Aristotle Would Not Hear
While I respect many of the moral accomplishments of the West, I believe that Judaism still has much to offer in critique of the West’s many remaining failings.
Redeeming Relevance: Beginnings and Ends: Musings about History
Historical perspective should humble us. It should make us realize how little we understand the true nature of what is going on around us. But it should also make us realize that things truly worthwhile have a staying power.
Redeeming Relevance: Halachic Man and Authentic Man
Even as Western society has become uncomfortable with religion, it has also become increasingly uncomfortable with its own discomfort.
The Minyan Market
The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
Rosenzweig and Weil are Dead
To understand why we don't see people like these anymore, it is worth pointing out that Rosenzweig and especially Weil could be described as “Renaissance men.”
Redeeming Relevance: Trail Flies and the Human Condition
Ya’akov is the patriarch that reached the pinnacle of the early Biblical period by combining the strengths of both his father and grandfather and raising all thirteen of his children to follow in his footsteps.
Listening to Others so God Will Listen to Us
Though many of us remain focused on Israel’s current war, the more general polarization in Israeli society and throughout much of the world that preceded it and continues to serve as its backdrop should be an even greater concern.
Redeeming Relevance: The Limits of Torah Legacies
There is no more meaningful relationship than the relationship of someone who teaches Torah with their students. And yet, no student is the same as their teacher.
Redeeming Relevance: Moshe’s Speech to Jews Living Today
While Moshe saw all the Jews as one whole, it was the ones in front of him who served as the representatives for all those who had lived and would live in the future.
Levinas, Ammon, and Moav: On the Neutral Neighbor
Many commentators wonder why not proffering bread and water is considered such a great crime
Of Witnesses, Keruvim, and Clones
The Torah standard for the conviction of criminals is set much higher than in most contemporary systems of law
Ending Poverty, the Torah Way
The reward matches the challenge.
Parshat Eikev: Can the Torah Exaggerate?
NEVER lose sight of the gol
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ve’etchanan :Why You Don’t Need to Worship Idols
...And Why You Might Have Thought Otherwise
The Torah’s Insists Uganda is for the Ugandans
The Land of Israel being the ideal homeland of the Jews is that it is the only one. It is ideal, and nowhere else
Reading Between the Lines
once Aharon dies and they confront the king of Arad, they decide upon a different journey in which they will enter Israel through the “side door.”
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Balak: What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You?
How important are failed plans and plots, such that the Torah needs to mention any of them at all?
What to do When Our Decisions Bring Casualties
When God gets angry at the people, all Moshe can do is fall on his face in grief at his own responsibility about what was happening--
But Moshe doesn’t stay on his face for long.
When Silence is NOT Golden
Being a real hero is not just about what we do, it is also about when we do it.
Moshe and the Missing Matriarch
One may then raise the question of why should Moshe have gotten married to begin with
The Place of the Displaced, the Replaced, and the Misplaced
The Kohen is the one who will accompany these three alienated individuals and, by so doing, become their connection to the rest of society.
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