麻豆原创

Love the Stranger

Aug 26, 2016 By Ethan Linden | Commentary | Eikev

In our parashah this week we find an odd statement masquerading as banal鈥攁 revolutionary idea that at first glance seems familiar, but is something else entirely. In Deuteronomy 10:19 the Torah commands: 鈥�Ve-ahavtem et hager ki gerim hayitem be-eretz mitzrayim鈥� (鈥淟ove the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt鈥�).

Experiencing the Light of Torah

Aug 19, 2016 By Nicole Wilson-Spiro | Commentary | Va'et-hannan

This summer I returned to Jewish overnight camp after a 15-year hiatus. After all this time, s鈥檓ores, a love of cheering in unison (has the cheering gotten louder or am I older?), and earnest, hard-working counselors (I was one, once) are still to be found at camp. I am happy to report that the food is now much, much better than I remembered, and the supervision and attention to camper care have improved vastly, as well.

The Currencies of Justice

Aug 12, 2016 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Devarim

You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low [katan] and high [gadol] alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God鈥檚. (Deut. 1:17)

Philo, the great 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish thinker, was engaged in a project that in many ways was deeply modern. He sought to 鈥渢ranslate鈥� Judaism for the Greek-speaking world of his day, and to demonstrate to a highly educated and urbane population that the Torah was a philosophically serious work. Not only could one be a Jew and be a Greek, but in many ways a pious Jew was the truest of Greeks.

A Summer of Discontent

Aug 5, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Masei | Mattot

The violent and disturbing events of this summer have given me new appreciation for the book of Numbers, and particularly for its conclusion. After chapter upon chapter of intrigue, rebellion, orgy, and mayhem, attention shifts in parashat Masei, the second part of this week鈥檚 double parashah, to a series of routine arrangements and details, elaborated at times in rhythmic repetition.

Dreaming of Being Balaam

Jul 22, 2016 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Balak

The story of the heathen prophet Balaam鈥攈ired by Moabite king Balak ben Tzippor to curse the people Israel鈥攊s altogether strange. It concerns events happening outside the Israelite camp and seemingly unknown to them, characters we鈥檝e not yet met, and a talking donkey. Its tone ranges from burlesquely funny to surreal.

Courses of Grief

Jul 15, 2016 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Hukkat

Bereft, I combed through the grass in Central Park at dusk when I realized I had lost my late husband鈥檚 house keys. Yes, on some level, I knew it wasn鈥檛 about the keys. His sudden death two months earlier had devastated me in much more profound ways. And yet, I felt desperate to find those keys!

Choosing Your Child?

Jul 8, 2016 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Korah

鈥淲hich do you prefer鈥攜our firstborn child, or the five coins required to redeem him?鈥�

This disconcerting question is part of the ritual known as pidyon haben, the redemption of the firstborn son. Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (13th鈥�14th centuries) reports this question as part of the liturgy from the geonic period in his Talmud commentary, and it is duly repeated by his son Rabbi Yakov ben Asher and later codifiers of Jewish law.

The Gift of Hallah

Jul 1, 2016 By Reuven Greenvald | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

If you鈥檙e a hallah baker, like I am, you know that all your measuring, kneading, and hours of checking on rising dough are totally worth it when, after the hamotzi at the Shabbat table, your family and friends let out a collective 鈥渁aah.鈥� When that fluffy, sweet piece of bread melts in their mouths, they know it鈥檚 really shabbes.