Author Archives: Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Telling and Being Told By the Story

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

In each and every generation a person is obliged to see himself as if he has gone out from Egypt.  (Passover Haggadah) Each person must bring an as if to the Pesah Seder.  The as if that I bring allows … Continue reading →

Posted in Passover, Poetry | 6 Comments

A Conversation with the Kaddish: The Way Through the World

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Kaddish, Judaism’s most famous response to loss, did not start out to serve that purpose.  Phrases that became elements of Kaddish were used in ancient Israel to celebrate the end of a session of communal study.  Their recitation marked a … Continue reading →

Posted in Kaddish, Poetry, Prayer | 1 Comment

A Conversation with the Kaddish: May I Be Magnified and Sanctified

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Between things falling and things taking place Is there a place for the lingering, for the lasting? Between things dying and things that are living Is there a place for tranquil home life, For one to sit in place, seeing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Kaddish, Poetry, Prayer | Leave a comment

Outside In

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Parshat Terumah begins the story of the Sanctuary with God’s request for gifts of materials so that artisans might make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8). The God of the Red Sea and of Sinai … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 4 Comments

The Angels’ Point of View

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Two ministering angels accompany a man on Shabbat eve as he comes home from the synagogue—one good angel and one bad.  And when he returns to the house and finds the lamp lit, the table arranged and the bed made … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Shabbat, Talmud | 2 Comments

Risking the Red Sea

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

In an essay called On Risk and Solitude, psychotherapist Adam Phillips reports an important lesson learned by a young patient who overcame his fear of the water through risk: I knew I was safer out of my depth because even … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah | 6 Comments

The Living Gathering of Ancestors

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The parshah that recounts the death of Jacob begins:  VaYechi Ya’akov/ Jacob lived.  Some see in this beginning a testimony to unending vitality despite death. Jacob, aware that his life is ending, says:  I am to be gathered to my … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 1 Comment

Sickbed and Sinai

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The Talmud offers the following advice:  “One who visits the sick should not sit on the bed or sit on a chair (if the sick one lies on a pallet on the floor).  Rather, the visitor should wrap himself reverently and … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Talmud | 1 Comment

The Pit in Joseph

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The story of Joseph begins in parshat VaYeshev where his rise to power begins in a pit:  They [Joseph’s brothers] took him and threw him into a pit (Genesis 27:31). A short midrash explores the effect of this moment on … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 2 Comments

Naming the Angel

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

At the end of a night-long struggle, Jacob earned a new name from his assailant—Israel, the one who prevailed over God. In return, Jacob asked:  Please tell me your name.  And he replied:  Why do you ask my name? (Genesis … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Midrash, Names, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 2 Comments