Author Archives: rabbiariel

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”

Yom Kippur 5784: Ethics of the Apocalypse

Introduction: something’s burning The time is urgent. As our ancestors put it in that ancient compendium of ethical sound bites called Pirke Avot,  רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַיּוֹם קָצָר וְהַמְּלָאכָה מְרֻבָּה, וְהַפּוֹעֲלִים עֲצֵלִים, וְהַשָּׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת דּוֹחֵק Rabbi Tarfon said: The day is short and the work is much, and the workers are lazy, andContinue reading “Yom Kippur 5784: Ethics of the Apocalypse”

Shabbat Ki Tavo: You Need Ritual

וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה’ אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ When you come into the land that your God ‘ה is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it (Deut. 26.1) The start of this week’s parashah records a very early (as far as our evidence goes) exampleContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tavo: You Need Ritual”