Category Archives: Midrash
Leavening On Our Shelves And In Ourselves
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
The Middle Of The Story And The Story Of The Middle
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
Posted in Holidays, Midrash, Passover, Poetry
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A Branch of the Tree of Life
Moses’ staff escaped our notice completely until God drew attention to it by asking Moses: What is that in your hand? (Exodus 4:2). That staff is the most animated of all the inanimate objects in the Torah. Jolted from scaly … Continue reading
Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry
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Sinai’s Appealing Thunder
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
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Never Too Early, Never Too Late
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
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In Light of Obligation
Halacha is law; the obligated Jewish life. To live without halacha is impossible. To live with it is risky— from a lecture by Rabbi David Hartman. When halachic man looks to the western horizon and sees the fading rays of … Continue reading
Posted in Midrash, Poetry, Prayer, Talmud
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More Moment Than Mountain
Ancient legends say that great mountains contended to be the site where God would reveal the Torah. But God did not have loftiness in mind: Mount Tabor and Mount Carmel presented themselves with pride as wide as the world saying: … Continue reading
Monumental Presence
(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
Between the Mountain and the Moment
The last words of the Ten Commandments resound from Sinai and the narrative of revelation continues: All the people saw the thunder and the lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays, Midrash, Poetry, Torah
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Kindness, Not Sacrifice
Lonely and painful winter days invite nostalgia for days of hesed—days of loving kindness and compassion. So says the poet, Yehuda Amichai: “Those were days of hesed,” I heard them say once on a winter street during days of loneliness … Continue reading
