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Category Archives: Talmud
Jerusalem And The Held Back Scream
The Jerusalem Talmud recounts: When David came to dig the foundations of the Temple he dug fifteen thousand cubits but had not reached the Deep. Finally, he uncovered a cluster of stones and was about to lift it when one rock … Continue reading
Posted in Jerusalem, Poetry, Talmud
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Each Person’s Stamp and Seal
The end of the matter, all things being heard: Revere God and observe his commandments, for this is the sum of human life. With this verse, the liturgical reading of Ecclesiastes comes to an end; the penultimate verse is repeated … Continue reading
Posted in Midrash, Poetry, Talmud
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Blossoms of Seder Night, Fruits of New Year’s Day
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
Where The House Once Was
It’s hard to imagine Torah scholars having such a furious argument that they ripped a Torah scroll. But… It happened, did it not, in the synagogue of Tiberias over the issue of a doorstop that had a knob on the … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Talmud, Torah
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Before and Within
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
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Beginnings Ripe And Ripening
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
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Amen: The Final Word
On my table sits a stone amen written upon it, a grave stone fragment, a remnant of a Jewish graveyard destroyed more than a thousand years ago, in the city where I was born. One word, amen, cut deep in … Continue reading
You Open For Him
Rabbi Eleazar HaKappar said: Do not be like a lintel overhead that no one can reach; neither, be like a door beam that injures faces, nor like a raised threshold that bruises feet. Rather, be like a low threshold that … Continue reading
Seeing Life In the Distance
Imagine a life in which repentance—teshuvah—is not necessary; a life in which there is no distance to close between action and ideal. According to the 3rd century sage, Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, the promise of such a life was beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Days of Awe, Poetry, Talmud
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To Forgive Is Human
How divine is forgiveness? asks the poet, Marge Piercy: It’s a nice concept but what’s under the sculptured draperies? We forgive when we don’t really care… We forgive those who betrayed us years later because memory has rotted through like … Continue reading
Posted in Days of Awe, Mishnah, Talmud
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