Author Archives: rabbiariel

Shabbat Mishpatim: From Egypt to…Purim?

מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וְלֹא־יֵרָא֥וּ פָנַ֖י רֵיקָֽם From Egypt none shall appear before Me empty-handed (Ex 23.15)  The initial letters of Mimitzrayim Velo Yera’u Panai Rekam, “from Egypt none shall appear before Me empty-handed” spell פורים – Purim.  Today is Rosh Hodesh Adar I, the first day of Adar I, so called because this is a leap year,Continue reading “Shabbat Mishpatim: From Egypt to…Purim?”

Shabbat Yitro: Who’s There?

וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃  Moshe brought the people out toward God, from the camp, and they stationed themselves beneath the mountain. (Exodus 19.17) Shabbat Yitro records our ancestors’ story of the ultimate moment of revelation between the Jewish people and HaShem. This moment is so overwhelmingly interesting to theologians that mostContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: Who’s There?”

Shabbat BeShalakh: the Shabbat of Song

וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת־הָעָם֒ וְלֹא־נָחָ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים דֶּ֚רֶךְ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֥י קָר֖וֹב ה֑וּא כִּ֣י ׀ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים פֶּֽן־יִנָּחֵ֥ם  הָעָ֛ם בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְשָׁ֥בוּ מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ וַיַּסֵּ֨ב אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶת־הָעָ֛ם דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר יַם־ס֑וּף Now it was, when Pharaoh had sent the people free, that HaShem did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, though it is nearer, forContinue reading “Shabbat BeShalakh: the Shabbat of Song”

Shabbat VaYigash: Against Chaos

וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: כׇּל וְאֵינוֹ מִתְאַבֵּל עַל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם — אֵינוֹ רוֹאֶה בְּשִׂמְחָתָהּ the Sages say: Whoever does not mourn for Jerusalem will not see her future joy – BT Ta’anit 30b Shalom beloved learning companions, Today is Asarah b’Tevet, the 10th day of the month of Tevet. This day is observed as a “minor” fast dayContinue reading “Shabbat VaYigash: Against Chaos”

Shabbat Miketz: the courage to continue to dream

Dreams, and their interpretation, are a major subject of ancient Jewish inquiry, as anyone who has ever studied Talmud and other rabbinic texts has seen. The mysterious state in which we spend so much of our lives seems that it must somehow be connected to our reality. Thus, theories abound:  One who sees a figContinue reading “Shabbat Miketz: the courage to continue to dream”

Shabbat VaYeshev: To Dwell In Safety

Anti-Zionism: The Language of the Oppressor In this week’s parashah a woman must discern how best to move within the patriarchal tribal system in which she has found herself. Our Torah narrative depicts her as smart and courageous, and, finally, victorious as well – and she manages not only to survive but to prevail byContinue reading “Shabbat VaYeshev: To Dwell In Safety”

Shabbat VaYetze: She’arit Yisrael

There are two concepts in Jewish law that help to frame it all: להתחילה l’hat’khilah and בדיעבד b’di’avad.  L’hat’khilah captures the Jewish mindset of the Ideal – we might express it using a phrase like “all things being equal” or just “ideally”. In halakhah, the Jewish path of life, it expresses the sense of howContinue reading “Shabbat VaYetze: She’arit Yisrael”

From Whence Our Help

The established leadership of the American Jewish community is freaking out. Why is the response to the horrific events of October 7 2023 in some ways more extreme here than in Israel? For some time now I’ve been convinced that we are in transition to a new Third Era of Jewish life; that as aContinue reading “From Whence Our Help”

The Mashiakh Is Not Coming

“If you have a sapling in your hand, and someone should say to you that the Messiah has come, stay and complete the planting, and then go to greet the Messiah.” –Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai (Avot de Rabbi Nathan, 31b) With all due respect to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, their most famous creation, Superman, isContinue reading “The Mashiakh Is Not Coming”