Category Archives: Torah

Where The House Once Was

Posted on July 14, 2015 by

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 | Leave a comment

More Moment Than Mountain

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

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

Between the Mountain and the Moment

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

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

Sufficient Meaning?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

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

Abraham, the Son: The Image Maker and Image Breaker

Posted on October 12, 2010 by

There is an ancient story about Abraham smashing all the idols in his father’s shop to prove that the idols were only statues, not gods.  As a child, I always thought that this story was in the Torah, so often … Continue reading →

Posted in Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah | 1 Comment