Category Archives: Memory

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 →

Posted in Holidays, Memory, Midrash, Poetry | Leave a comment

Never Too Early, Never Too Late

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

On the 9th anniversary of my father’s death— It seemed to some ancient sages that the Book of Ezekiel opens years after the start of the prophet’s career. Instead of beginning in the fifth year of the exile of King … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Life cycle, Memory, Midrash, Poetry | 3 Comments

Monumental Presence

Posted on December 28, 2012 by

(In memory of Talia Agler) The solace of a gravestone is its solidity—a feature carried in the Hebrew word matzevah, meaning “firmly fixed.” But a gravestone need not merely be a solid surface that reflects the past. It can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory, Midrash, Poetry | 1 Comment

Noah’s Flood: Outer Landscape and Inner World

Posted on October 7, 2010 by

An ancient sage and a modern poet, each named Yehuda, give different life to the images of the biblical flood story. The terrain of the flooded world reminded the 4th century sage, Rabbi Yehuda ben Simon, of Psalm 36:7:  Your … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | Leave a comment

The World is Filled with Remembering and Forgetting

Posted on August 23, 2010 by

In the world of the Bible, memory is prized.  There are many commands to “remember,” and some, “not to forget” along with the resigned admission that you likely will forget.  The need to remember and remind is a theme that … Continue reading →

Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays, Memory, Names, Poetry | Leave a comment