Upcoming Events
- Resilience, Renewal, and Resurrection, Part 3 January 26, 2020 at 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
- Resilience, Renewal, and Resurrection, Part 4 February 16, 2020 at 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
- Hevra Kaddisha Day of Learning March 1, 2020 at 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Resilience, Renewal, and Resurrection, Part 5 April 5, 2020 at 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
- Resilience, Renewal, and Resurrection, Part 6 May 17, 2020 at 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Author Archives: Rabbi Steven G. Sager
The Nature Of Teshuvah
An early rabbinic teaching concerns our place in the world’s time: How should we count the years and account for the crops tithed to the Temple? Each season would begin on the first day of the well-chosen month, except for … Continue reading
Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays, Mishnah, Poetry
Leave a comment
“I” Witness – The Song At The Sea
A fierce wind plowed the sea, piling a wall of water to either side of a seabed blown dry. Miraculously, there was stable footing for weary slaves—notwithstanding the wind that the sea itself could not withstand. Wind, walls of water, … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays, Parshat HaShavuah, Passover, Poetry, Torah
Leave a comment
Slowly, And In Our Days
In a fiery chariot that rose towards heaven, Elijah disappeared from ordinary view and broke into Jewish religious imagination—now appearing at just the right moment, to prompt, protect, and provoke us to deepen ordinary events into Elijah Moments. As a … Continue reading
Posted in Elijah, Holidays, Passover
2 Comments
Hesed Is The Prayer And The Answer
When Sarah died at the age of 127, Abraham’s family lost its hesed, the caring, steadfast acts that connect people and sustain the world. Sarah’s hesed was unfailing, even in difficult times. Let this be your hesed to me, Abraham … Continue reading
Posted in Blessing, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah
2 Comments
Wholly Complete And Holy Incomplete
The Torah’s first creation story concludes: Va-yechulu…And the heaven and the earth and all of their ranks were finished. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done and rested on the seventh day from all … Continue reading
Posted in Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Prayer, Shabbat, Talmud
Leave a comment
Heroes Who Limp
Jacob’s midnight assailant was surprised at his adversary’s great strength. He wondered if Jacob might be an angel like himself. Angels have no leg joints, the midrash teaches, so he touched Jacob at the hip to determine whether his opponent’s … Continue reading
Meaning Beyond All Blessings And Poems
“I want my kids to say Kaddish for me after I die, but I can’t explain to them why, or what Kaddish means to me. I’ve looked at the translation—but that’s not what the Kaddish means to me; and if … Continue reading
Posted in Kaddish, Poetry, Prayer
3 Comments
Jerusalem And The Held Back Scream
The Jerusalem Talmud recounts: When David came to dig the foundations of the Temple he dug fifteen thousand cubits but had not reached the Deep. Finally, he uncovered a cluster of stones and was about to lift it when one rock … Continue reading
Posted in Jerusalem, Poetry, Talmud
4 Comments
Naming The Unimaginable
At the harrowing end, a ram replaced Yitzhak as the sacrifice; a narrow escape that came only after two divine interventions to divert father Abraham from his unimaginable mission. Generations of rabbinic storytellers imagined even narrower escapes for Yitzhak, placing … Continue reading
Posted in Midrash, Names, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah
Leave a comment
Believe it—And Not
Noah was lacking in belief, taught the 3rd century teacher, Rabbi Yohanan. If not for the water reaching his ankles, he would not have entered the ark. Lacking in belief? Noah, who fulfilled the twin tasks of building the great … Continue reading
Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Torah
4 Comments
