The chapter we are reading from Kohelet this year begins with one of every rabbi’s favorite texts for use in a eulogy. Tov shem mishemen tov, “A good name is better than fragrant oil”(Ecclesiastes 7:1). As Michael V. Fox wrote in his JPS Commentary to the biblical scroll, “The words themselves glide like oil” (The JPS Bible Continue Reading »
Ushpizin is one of the most beloved Israeli films. Written by and starring the beloved Israeli actor and musician Shul Rand, the 2004 movie told the story of a devout Bratslav hasidic man, his love of his wife, their prayers for a child, and his checkered past. It was a sensation in America, and in Israel, religious Continue Reading »
On this final Shabbat of 5783, we don’t quite finish the Torah, but we’re pretty close to the end. Think about where we are, and where Moshe and the Israelites are in the Torah. We both stand at a threshold, ready to cross from one state to another. For us, that transition is in the Continue Reading »
Though the bad news in this week’s parshah, Ki-Tavo, gets most of the attention, there’s also some good news. Before the tokhekhah, the long warning of what will befall Israel if they aren’t faithful to God and the covenant, the Torah also includes blessings. Given that the context is the impending conquest of the Promised Land, military success or Continue Reading »
It may be enshrined in Hollywood, but nowhere in Judaism do we find marriage vows, and certainly none that include “till death do us part.” Divorce is established as an authentic possibility as early as the Biblical era, as we find in this week’s Torah portion, Ki-Teitzei: When a marriage goes sour, “he writes her a Continue Reading »
We encounter the Hebrew word tam, and its close relative tamim, in several places in our tradition. Maybe the most familiar is the third of the four children in the Pesah Haggadah. Tam, mah hu omer? “What does the tam child say? We’ve seen this translated as “simple,” “pure,” even “stupid.” This variety of translations means that we don’t have unanimity about Continue Reading »
It’s been a long time since I was a regular South Park viewer, so until today I was not aware of a sketch from 2021 that became a pop culture phenomenon and viral meme (see me at kiddush if you need that translated). In this episode, the incorrigible and profane Eric Cartman goes with his mother on Continue Reading »
We always make a big deal out of completing one of the books of the humash. We did just that last Shabbat, chanting hazak hazak venithazek–“be strong, be strong, and we will be strengthened”–in honor of the person who had the final aliyah of Sefer BeMidbar. We stand for the final verse of the book. It’s a moment of pomp Continue Reading »
This week’s Torah portion is named for a bad guy. It’s not the only time this happens; just a week from now Balak gets his name on synagogue marquises all over the world. This week’s parshah is named for Korah, instigator of a major rebellion against Moshe’s leadership. Isn’t it odd that our tradition would Continue Reading »
When, on that rare occasion, you make an egregious error, it’s likely that you overcompensate for that mistake and go out of your way to fix it. Especially if it was an error of omission. “I neglected to return so-and-so’s phone call, and she was furious with me, so now I call her every three Continue Reading »
