Category Archives: Talmud

Things Last and Lasting

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

By Rabbi Daniel Alexander, who is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville, VA, where he continues to write and teach and serve as a Spiritual Director (read more here). Dan and Steve met in Jerusalem while studying at the Shalom Hartman … Continue reading →

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Sea of Memories

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

(A conversation submitted by Ariele Sager Rosen, daughter of Rabbi Steve Sager. Ariele is a Jewish Studies teacher in Israel, where she lives with her family) The world is filled with remembering and forgettingAs it is with sea and dry … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessing, Days of Awe, Memory, Midrash, Poetry, Talmud, Torah | 2 Comments

Truth Will Spring Up

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The first few weeks in quarantine were not too difficult. For one thing, we had just returned from Israel and we were tired—and frightened. For another thing, the world seemed painted in pandemic colors and moods: grey and foreboding. But … Continue reading →

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On That Day

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

“Living with halacha is risky—living without halacha is impossible,” said David Hartman. On that day, in the bet midrash our teacher was probing a core Talmud text of the Hartman canon, “The Oven of Achnai,” a story that underscores Rabbi Hartman’s style, … Continue reading →

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Wholly Complete And Holy Incomplete

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

The Torah’s first creation story concludes: Va-yechulu…And the heaven and the earth and all of their ranks were finished. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done and rested on the seventh day from all … Continue reading →

Posted in Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Prayer, Shabbat, Talmud | Leave a comment

Jerusalem And The Held Back Scream

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 | 4 Comments

Each Person’s Stamp and Seal

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 | 3 Comments

Blossoms of Seder Night, Fruits of New Year’s Day

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 →

Posted in Holidays, Passover, Poetry, Talmud | 1 Comment

Where The House Once Was

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 →

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Before and Within

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

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 | Leave a comment