Category Archives: Poetry

More Than Repentance

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Teshuvah means more than “repentance.”    “Repentance” asks me to say that I am sorry, once again.  Teshuvah turns on the Hebrew verb that means “turn” or “return.”  The act of Teshuvah holds the possibility of creative, reflective, purposeful turning—both turning … Continue reading →

Posted in Days of Awe, Holidays, Poetry | 1 Comment

Certifiably Kosher

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Can I say of myself that I am kosher?  Or, that he or she is kosher? Rabban Gamliel and the 20th century Israeli poet, Yehuda Amichai, might have had an interesting conversation about such a use of the term, kosher.  First, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mishnah, Poetry, Talmud | 2 Comments

Rising Virtue, Rising Duty, Rising Courage

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

Here are three voices that join a conversation about the meaning of rising in the morning—a psychologist, a rabbi and a poet: I am lying in bed, says the psychologist William James, and think it is time to get up; … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Talmud | Leave a comment

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 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