Author Archives: Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Naming The Unimaginable

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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

So That You Will Remember

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

In the first days after the liberation of Dachau, a US soldier and a wounded survivor chanced to meet on the grounds of that infamous concentration camp. The now liberated prisoner thrust upon the soldier a cake of compacted ashes … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 2 Comments

Steps, Blessed Be They

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

God is steps, declared Yehuda Amichai. Such an outright assertion about God was unusual for the great Israeli poet. He was fond of similes that invited listeners closer to the mystery without violating the distance that mystery needs. Among his … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Poetry, Prayer, Torah | 1 Comment

How Deep? How High?

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

How much do I love you? I’ll tell you no lie. How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky? Irving Berlin wrote the song, How Deep Is the Ocean? in 1932. It consists mainly of rhetorical questions that point … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Midrash, Passover, Poetry, Torah | Leave a comment

Forgetting Reminds Me…

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The national election created in me a deep sense that I wanted to meet and speak with more of my neighbors. In my busy-ness, it’s easy to walk past the community of the every-day. That seems wrong to me now. … Continue reading →

Posted in Names, Parshat HaShavuah, Torah | 5 Comments

The Walk Is Painful

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The poet, Muriel Rukeyser, learned from her mother the family tradition that she was a direct descendant of Rabbi Akiba. Muriel carried that legacy into a life of vision and activism, beginning in the 1930’s when she wrote and spoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Poetry | 2 Comments

Created On The Second Day

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

When was love created? asked a modern Israeli poet. When were the angels made? an ancient sage inquired. Each question contains an essential quest: to read a detail of personal interest both into, and out of, the few verses of … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 1 Comment

The Binding Of God

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

To my mind’s eye, Rabbi Berechiah appeared stoop-shouldered and mournful on Rosh Hashanah as he listened to the Torah reader recite Genesis 22, The Binding of Isaac. Berechiah, a 4th century sage of the land of Israel, was pained by … Continue reading →

Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays, Midrash, Poetry, Torah | 1 Comment

Each Person’s Stamp and Seal

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The end of the matter, all things being heard:  Revere God and observe his commandments, for this is the sum of human life. With this verse, the liturgical reading of Ecclesiastes comes to an end; the penultimate verse is repeated … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Poetry, Talmud | 3 Comments