rabbiariel

Shabbat Shemot: Standing up to Pharaoh

Renee Good: may her memory be a blessing “Tank Man” temporarily stops the advance of four Type 59 tanks on June 5, 1989, in Beijing. This photograph (one of six similar versions) was taken by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press. (Wikipedia) וַיָּ֥קׇם מֶֽלֶךְ־חָדָ֖שׁ עַל־מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע אֶת־יוֹסֵֽף A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. –Continue reading “Shabbat Shemot: Standing up to Pharaoh”

Shabbat VaYehi 5786: Fruitfulness and Forgetting

וַיְבָ֨רְכֵ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמוֹר֒ בְּךָ֗ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֣ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כְּאֶפְרַ֖יִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־אֶפְרַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ [Jacob] blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: may Elohim make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. (Gen. 48.20) Blessing one’s children has been a regular part of theContinue reading “Shabbat VaYehi 5786: Fruitfulness and Forgetting”

Shabbat Hanukkah 5786: What Are The Odds?

“Courage is knowing you’re licked, and remaining steadfast until the very end anyway.” – Harper Lee One of those who didn’t stop to calculate her odds was Judith of Betulia, a heroine whose story is associated with Hanukkah. Her bravery was a favorite subject of Renaissance art. Pictured: Caravaggio’s “Judith beheading Holofernes” (Creative Commons) ThisContinue reading “Shabbat Hanukkah 5786: What Are The Odds?”

Shabbat VaYetze 5786: We Are All Diminished

“When a righteous person leaves a city, its glory, its splendour and its beauty depart from it.” (Rashi, citing Bereshit Rabbah 68.6) Our parashah begins in terror: Jacob is running from certain death. We put it in more elegant ways in different translations, but the truth is that our ancestor was a refugee, running away,Continue reading “Shabbat VaYetze 5786: We Are All Diminished”

Shabbat Hayye Sarah 5786: Times Are Hard

מצווה גוררת מצווה ועבירה גוררת עבירה, ששכר מצווה מצווה ושכר עבירה עבירה” (נפש החיים א, יב). It is as the Sages have said (Pirke Avot 4.2), “A mitzvah brings another mitzvah and a sin brings another sin, for the reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and the punishment for a sin is a sin”Continue reading “Shabbat Hayye Sarah 5786: Times Are Hard”

Shabbat Nitzavim: Be Consoled

In this week’s parashah, the scene is set at the beginning: אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י ה’ אֱלֹ-יכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל You stand this day, all of you, before your G!d ‘ה —your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, every person in Israel (Deut. 29.9) The narrative which follows indicatesContinue reading “Shabbat Nitzavim: Be Consoled”

Shabbat Ki Tavo: Two Jews, Three Opinions

In this week’s parashah the sense of Deuteronomy’s perspective – different from that of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers – is noticeable. In the last third of the reading, as we read according to the Triennial Cycle, there is evidence of an ancient division among our people. אֵ֠לֶּה יַֽעַמְד֞וּ לְבָרֵ֤ךְ אֶת־הָעָם֙ עַל־הַ֣ר גְּרִזִ֔ים בְּעׇבְרְכֶ֖ם אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן שִׁמְעוֹן֙Continue reading “Shabbat Ki Tavo: Two Jews, Three Opinions”

Shabbat Ki Tetze: Respecting Boundaries

וְזָכַרְתָּ֗ כִּ֣י עֶ֤בֶד הָיִ֙יתָ֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וַֽיִּפְדְּךָ֛ ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מִשָּׁ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־הַדָּבָ֖ר הַזֶּֽה Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that your God ה redeemed you from there; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment. (Deut. 24.18) Our teacher Gershon Winkler has pointed out that the Hebrew word forContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tetze: Respecting Boundaries”

Shabbat Shoftim: Judges and Us (Not Police)

צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Deut. 16.20) On this Shabbat Shoftim I have a hiddush to share with you. In Torah study, a hiddush – חידוש – isContinue reading “Shabbat Shoftim: Judges and Us (Not Police)”

Shabbat Ekev: Down at the Heels

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must havethe stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthlessfurnace of this world. To make injustice the onlymeasure of our attention is to praise the Devil. from Jack Gilbert, “A Brief for the Defense” This week we read parashat Ekev, inContinue reading “Shabbat Ekev: Down at the Heels”