Category Archives: Holidays

How Deep? How High?

Posted on March 31, 2017 by

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

The Binding Of God

Posted on September 29, 2016 by

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

The Eleventh And Twelfth Commandments: Don’t Change! Change!

Posted on June 10, 2016 by

My father was God and didn’t know it.  He gave me the ten commandments neither in thunder nor in fury, neither in fire nor in cloud but in gentleness and in love. He added caresses and added kind words adding, … Continue reading →

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Leavening On Our Shelves And In Ourselves

Posted on April 18, 2016 by

Every year, several weeks before Passover, my personal search for leaven begins in a way that is more symbolic than actual. I approach my bookshelves where there are many books that have served their rising, yeasty purposes and are now … Continue reading →

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

Blossoms of Seder Night, Fruits of New Year’s Day

Posted on April 12, 2016 by

Rabbi Eliezer was sure that the world was created in the fall month of Tishrei, the season of the New Year. His rival, Rabbi Joshua, was equally positive that the world was created at Passover time, in the spring month … Continue reading →

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

Heaven, Holiness, And Harmony

Posted on September 20, 2015 by

On erev Yom Kippur, 1990, the heavens broke open over kibbutz Bet Hashita. In the moment, after the singing, no one spoke; no one wanted to leave. Later, individual recollections of heaven, holiness, and harmony seemed woven into one story, … Continue reading →

Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays | 2 Comments

The Middle Of The Story And The Story Of The Middle

Posted on March 31, 2015 by

On the Torah page, the miracle of Passover’s seventh day comes into view. The Torah page literally pictures Israel crossing the sea—glistening black letters against sea foam parchment.  The words are inscribed according to the script: Look! There are the people … Continue reading →

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Before and Within

Posted on September 29, 2014 by

A strange Yom Kippur story was told by Rabbi Ishmael, a High Priest of the 2nd Temple: Once, I entered before and within (the Holy of Holies) to offer the incense and I saw Akatriel Yah, the Lord of Hosts, sitting on … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessing, Days of Awe, Holidays, Poetry, Talmud | Leave a comment

Beginnings Ripe And Ripening

Posted on September 9, 2014 by

Rabbi Eliezer asks:  From where do we learn that the world was created in Tishrei? From the verse: God said, let the earth sprout grasses, seed bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth bearing fruit with the seed … Continue reading →

Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays, Passover, Poetry, Talmud | 2 Comments

Sinai’s Appealing Thunder

Posted on June 1, 2014 by

I will not float in space un-tethered lest a cloud obscure the very fine line in my heart that separates good and evil. I have no life-line without the lightning and the thunder that I heard at Sinai. (Click here … Continue reading →

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