The comments below were written for a Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Reader compiled by my synagogue’s social action committee. I highly recommend reading the entire packet if you have the time and interest. Hayom harat olam are the familiar opening words of a beloved short piyyut, a liturgical poem, recited three times in the …
HaYom Harat Olam: We Are the World’s Foster Parents Read More »
The study takes a fascinating and deceptively accessible look at the commonalities of biblical heroes and heroines with each other and with the heroes of the more modern literary tradition (e.g., Shakespeare, Austen, Whitman, Richard Wright, and Quentin Tarantino). Rabin’s book is a witty and knowledgeable take on biblical heroism, and it is highly recommended …
New Review, from the American Academy of Religion Read More »
In general, tefillah is meant to be recited aloud. Although in practice, many prayers are often mumbled in silence, especially in Ashkenazi services, with only the beginning and end chanted or sung, that is done more for time and expediency than necessity. Sephardic services tend to recite all of the words aloud, a practice that creates a different …
אליק נולד מן הים “Elik was born from the sea.” This famous first line of the book With His Own Hands, novelist Moshe Shamir’s memoir of his brother who died in the War of Independence, captures an attitude about Israeli society and history prevalent in the years before and after the rise of the State of Israel. …
I recently read the remarkable first novel by journalist Max Gross, The Lost Shtetl. I came across the book when perusing the list of winners of this year’s National Jewish Book Awards; it also garnered the Jewish Fiction Award from the National Association of Jewish Libraries. The book begins in the “what if” genre: What if …
What Does the Memory of the Shoah Tell Us about Ourselves? Read More »
The astonishing assortment of writings that are collectively known as the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal, among many things, the ferment and formation that took place in Jewish religious and social life during the end of the Second Temple period. The findings include the earliest versions of many biblical books and the first known set of …
I’m excited to join dozen of other interpreters today on 929.org.il, where we each chose a verse of the longest of the Psalms, Psalm 119. Read my contribution here: “The Dimensions of Vav.”
The approach of Purim this year feels more somber than celebratory. It marks the one year anniversary of the pandemic, which started being felt in New York right around Purim; and of course, our country and our world are still very much suffering from the disease, and even though the number of cases is decreasing, …
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) is best remembered for his five-novel series known as the Leatherstocking Tales, including his most famous book, The Last of the Mohicans. Interestingly, the books in the series were composed out of order, the first one written, The Pioneers, taking place next to last (1793) according to the dates of the …
I enjoyed presenting and conversing with the students at Valley Beit Midrash in Phoenix. Thanks to the online classroom, I was able to engage with learners from all over. VBM kindly converts the presentation into a video recording and podcast–have a look or listen!