Author Archives: Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Everything Will Not Be Alright

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

This is how you shall eat your Passover offering: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it b’hippazon (Exodus 12:11)—in hurried, harried, anxious haste. Everything will not be alright … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Passover, Poetry, Torah | 1 Comment

On That Day

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

“Living with halacha is risky—living without halacha is impossible,” said David Hartman. On that day, in the bet midrash our teacher was probing a core Talmud text of the Hartman canon, “The Oven of Achnai,” a story that underscores Rabbi Hartman’s style, … Continue reading →

Posted in Talmud | Leave a comment

The Nature Of Teshuvah

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 →

Posted in Angels, Blessing, Midrash, Poetry, Torah | 4 Comments

Meaning Beyond All Blessings And Poems

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

“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

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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