Parshat Pekudei
byThe mitzvot that dominant nations are most fervently against automatically require extra valor and self-sacrifice to fulfill. Observing these precepts takes on higher meaning as an expression of emuna.
Culture
Asherah
byA tree was planted across the park From my balcony I glimpse its branches and the old men sitting in the shade They brought…
Parshat Vayaq’hel
byThe melekh does not actually rule over Israel but rather embodies the mission and aspirations of his nation to the extent that he becomes a microcosm of the entire Jewish people and his personal identity is absorbed into Israel’s collective national identity.
She Calls to Me by Name
byI found her in a shepherd’s vale With lilies twined up in her hair I asked her what had brought her there and she…
Parshat Ki Tisa
byThrough a heightened awareness of Israel’s true inner essence, we can see past the sharp ideological divisions and appreciate the intrinsic unity beneath and beyond our surface disputes.
Twisted Metal
byI wonder what those future archaeologists will think of these derelict towers and rusted iron smokestacks jutting from the ancient earth and what stories…
Sound and Fury
byI am haunted by those old gods Odin, Zeus, Osiris as shadow and blood rippling through my genes ephemeral rifts in my body’s memory…
Parshat Tetzave
byUpon a surface reading of the text, Aharon appears to have lacked the readiness for ultimate sacrifice.
Son of the Rising Star
byHandcuffs, battered face blooded nose and blazing eyes a proud brow, the snarling head of lions, ripping havoc into the tails of foxes to…
Parshat T’ruma
byThe notion of giving everything to HaShem illustrates the difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile.
Celebrating the 28th of Shvat
byBefore Rome destroyed Jerusalem, Israel’s calendar had several festivals commemorating Maccabean victories. The story of our 26 year guerrilla war is actually so much bigger than just Ḥanukah.
Parshat Mishpatim
byIsrael being a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’ necessitates the sanctification of individual, interpersonal and national life so as to give earthly expression to the Torah’s lofty spiritual values.