וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל לִרְאֹ֣ת אֶת־פָּנָ֑י כִּ֛י לֹֽא־יִרְאַ֥נִי הָאָדָ֖ם וָחָֽי׃ “you cannot see My face, for a human being may not see Me and live.” (Ex. 33.20) “You can’t handle the truth.” – Col. Jessup, A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin, 1992 This Shabbat we read from parashat Ki Tisa, in close proximity to the storyContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tisa: Truth requires Mercy”
Tag Archives: gemilut hasadim
Shabbat Terumah: The Gift of Kindness
אֵין צְדָקָה מִשְׁתַּלֶּמֶת אֶלָּא לְפִי חֶסֶד שֶׁבָּהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״זִרְעוּ לָכֶם לִצְדָקָה וְקִצְרוּ לְפִי חֶסֶד״ The extent to which the tzedakah you do takes root depends entirely upon the extent of the kindness in it, for it is said, “Sow to yourselves according to tzedakah, but reap according to the kindness.” – BT Sukkah 49b ThisContinue reading “Shabbat Terumah: The Gift of Kindness”
Shabbat Hayei Sarah: Kindness Trumps Rights
Throughout many generations of wandering in Exile, our ancestors would begin to develop our community institutions whenever we came to a new place, and it seemed like we would be able to stay for a while. The first such institution was neither the beit midrash (learning center) nor a beit knesset (center for gathering and prayer) – itContinue reading “Shabbat Hayei Sarah: Kindness Trumps Rights”
Shabbat Nakhamu: Consolation?
This Shabbat, called Nakhamu after the first word of the Haftarah, meant to be a Shabbat of consolation. The first Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, that time of terrible destruction once long ago and now a time to face the equally terrifying consequences of our actions in our own days, is meant to reassure us that, afterContinue reading “Shabbat Nakhamu: Consolation?”
Selikhot meditation: justice is not enough
The days grow fewer until we reach what our tradition calls The Great Day of Judgement. On this Motza’ey Shabbat, as the Shabbat concludes, the Ashkenazi community begins daily midnight prayers of Selikhot, asking for forgiveness. In these prayers we consider: how are we to be judged? in other words, how are we to best do G-d’sContinue reading “Selikhot meditation: justice is not enough”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 