Category Archives: Torah

“I” Witness – The Song At The Sea

Posted on April 24, 2019 by

A fierce wind plowed the sea, piling a wall of water to either side of a seabed blown dry. Miraculously, there was stable footing for weary slaves—notwithstanding the wind that the sea itself could not withstand. Wind, walls of water, … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Parshat HaShavuah, Passover, Poetry, Torah | Leave a comment

Hesed Is The Prayer And The Answer

Posted on October 31, 2018 by

When Sarah died at the age of 127, Abraham’s family lost its hesed, the caring, steadfast acts that connect people and sustain the world. Sarah’s hesed was unfailing, even in difficult times. Let this be your hesed to me, Abraham … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessing, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah | 2 Comments

Heroes Who Limp

Posted on March 13, 2018 by

Jacob’s midnight assailant was surprised at his adversary’s great strength. He wondered if Jacob might be an angel like himself. Angels have no leg joints, the midrash teaches, so he touched Jacob at the hip to determine whether his opponent’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Blessing, Midrash, Poetry, Torah | 4 Comments

Naming The Unimaginable

Posted on October 29, 2017 by

At the harrowing end, a ram replaced Yitzhak as the sacrifice; a narrow escape that came only after two divine interventions to divert father Abraham from his unimaginable mission. Generations of rabbinic storytellers imagined even narrower escapes for Yitzhak, placing … Continue reading →

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

Believe it—And Not

Posted on October 16, 2017 by

Noah was lacking in belief, taught the 3rd century teacher, Rabbi Yohanan. If not for the water reaching his ankles, he would not have entered the ark. Lacking in belief? Noah, who fulfilled the twin tasks of building the great … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Torah | 4 Comments

Steps, Blessed Be They

Posted on April 7, 2017 by

God is steps, declared Yehuda Amichai. Such an outright assertion about God was unusual for the great Israeli poet. He was fond of similes that invited listeners closer to the mystery without violating the distance that mystery needs. Among his … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Poetry, Prayer, Torah | 1 Comment

How Deep? How High?

Posted on March 31, 2017 by

How much do I love you? I’ll tell you no lie. How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky? Irving Berlin wrote the song, How Deep Is the Ocean? in 1932. It consists mainly of rhetorical questions that point … Continue reading →

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

Forgetting Reminds Me…

Posted on December 14, 2016 by

The national election created in me a deep sense that I wanted to meet and speak with more of my neighbors. In my busy-ness, it’s easy to walk past the community of the every-day. That seems wrong to me now. … Continue reading →

Posted in Names, Parshat HaShavuah, Torah | 5 Comments

The Binding Of God

Posted on September 29, 2016 by

To my mind’s eye, Rabbi Berechiah appeared stoop-shouldered and mournful on Rosh Hashanah as he listened to the Torah reader recite Genesis 22, The Binding of Isaac. Berechiah, a 4th century sage of the land of Israel, was pained by … Continue reading →

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

The Deepening And Expanding Torah

Posted on March 30, 2016 by

After Mount Sinai, the Mishnah says, height was no longer the measure of Torah; depth and breadth became Torah’s new and useful dimensions: Moses received Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua who transmitted it to the elders; from … Continue reading →

Posted in Mishnah, Poetry, Torah | Leave a comment