麻豆原创

Remember the Land

May 31, 2019 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Behukkotai

Spring is my favorite season because it draws me outdoors, enticing me to leave the city and enjoy the rivers, fields, and mountains of this glorious earth. Even near the city I often find myself in nature, biking along the Hudson and up the Palisades past waterfalls and nesting eagles. Returning to the land reminds me of the many blessings of our world, filling me with gratitude and awe. It also causes foreboding since the signs of stress on the natural systems that make our lives possible are everywhere evident. While this era of anthropogenic climate change may be new, the concern that human conduct could lead to ruin and exile from the earth is found already in our Torah portion.

Entering the Clouds of Glory

Mar 8, 2019 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Pekudei

鈥淲hat do you mean, Rabbi? The clouds are mysterious鈥攊t鈥檚 like being on Sinai!鈥� This statement by a rabbinical student consoled me several years ago on the summit of Giant Mountain in the Adirondacks. Each fall I take a minyan or so of students hiking for the weekend, and on that day, we had spent many hours climbing this enormous peak. On the way up, we enjoyed stunning views鈥攐f an alpine lake called 鈥渢he Giant鈥檚 Washbowl鈥� and the Great Range looming across the valley to our south. But when we reached the top of Giant a thick cloud had parked itself on the summit and would not budge. Visibility was limited to about ten feet, and wisps of mist skimmed between us.

Holy Work for God鈥檚 Creation

Feb 15, 2019 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Tetzavveh

The most important headline of the week (and perhaps the year) did not appear in the top right column of the New York Times last Thursday. That spot鈥攖raditionally reserved for the lead story鈥攚as given over to the troubles facing the governor of Virginia, a scandal likely to be resolved and forgotten in a matter of weeks. Not so the fact that 鈥渢he five warmest years in recorded history have been the last five, and that 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001.鈥� This story is likely to shape human history鈥攁nd the life of the planet鈥攆or many years to come; it now seems indisputable that 鈥渢he quickly rising temperatures . . . correspond with the scientific consensus that climate change is caused by human activity.鈥�

Hearing the Scream

Dec 7, 2018 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Miketz

Perhaps no scream is more famous than the one portrayed in Edvard Munch鈥檚 painting popularly known simply as The Scream. The irony is that almost none of us is aware of the scream that Munch intended to portray.

Basic Questions

Oct 12, 2018 By Shira D. Epstein | Commentary | Noah

Early in my teaching career I worked with kindergarteners, incorporating drama into daily Judaics lessons. The holiday cycle offered developmentally appropriate treasure troves of life lessons: practicing ways to say 鈥淚’m sorry鈥� to loved ones during Tishrei; exploring Esther鈥檚 mustering of courage to speak the truth; hesitations of the Israelites to part from predictable routines in the known and familiar Egypt to try something brand-new and strange.

Genetic Engineering, Jewish Law, and the Remaking of Life

Jun 18, 2018 By Daniel Nevins | Public Event video | Video Lecture

An exploration of genetic engineering through the lens of Jewish law and values. Under what circumstances should the DNA modification of new and already living plants, animals, and humans be permitted?

The Theology of Meteorology

May 11, 2018 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Behar | Behukkotai

Imagine if your weather app displayed not images of sun and clouds, but icons of good and evil, like this: 鈽� 鈽�. Each city might have a virtue index鈥攚ith the weather forecast tracking not the jet stream but morality, indicated by a friendly or fierce face. City X has been charitable, so they can expect light rains followed by sunny skies, but City Y has seen an uptick in violent crime, so it is in for a drought or hurricane. Such a system sounds absurd, and yet it is basically what the Torah presents as a theology of weather.

Miracles of Biblical and Everyday Proportions

Jan 19, 2018 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Bo

Last week, God pummeled Egypt unprecedentedly with hail:

The LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire streamed down to the ground, as the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. The hail was very heavy鈥攆ire flashing in the midst of the hail鈥攕uch as had not fallen on the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. (Exod. 9:23鈥�24)

On the combination of fire and ice, Ibn Ezra comments that this was 鈥渁 wonder within a wonder.鈥�