Category Archives: Midrash

More Moment Than Mountain

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 →

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

Monumental Presence

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

(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

Between the Mountain and the Moment

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 | 3 Comments

Kindness, Not Sacrifice

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 →

Posted in Midrash, Poetry | 1 Comment

Sufficient Meaning?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The Torah’s written words are not sufficient.   It is the reading of the word and not the word alone that produces meaning.  Meaning appears when timely experiences enter into conversation with the timeless text. Rashi, the great commentator, gives an … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah | Leave a comment

The Lulav: Pointing To Creator and Creature at the Season of Creation

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

It is the manner of earthly monarchs to extend the scepter with favor towards a subject.  During Sukkot, when the lulav becomes the scepter, it is the earthly, earthy subject who extends the scepter with favor towards the horizons and … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 4 Comments

From Clenched Fist to Open Hand

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The ancient sages disputed whether the troubled and troubling book, Ecclesiastes, should have a place among the holy writings.  Sages who appreciated its value suggested that Ecclesiastes charted a course through the thicket of life, blazing an articulate path through … Continue reading →

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Where Shall We Put The Sign?

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

In the “movie version” of the Passover story, we watch the people of Israel paint the blood of the Passover offering on their doors as a sign that marks their houses for protection against what will be the last of … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Passover | Leave a comment

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