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”
Tag Archives: religion
Shabbat VaYera: Apocalypse Now
apokalysis, the Greek word for “revelation”, means not “ending” but “unveiling”…not “closure” but “disclosure” – that is, opening. A chance to open our eyes? But to what? -Ayana Mathis, “Imprinted by Belief: Apocalypse” NYTimes book review April 21 2024 Only four weeks ago we began again to immerse ourselves in the endless sea of TorahContinue reading “Shabbat VaYera: Apocalypse Now”
Shabbat Bereshit: Beginning Again, With You
The Thing Is To love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and everything you’ve held dear crumbles like burnt paper in your hands, your throat filled with the silt of it. When grief sits with you, its tropical heat thickening the air, heavy as water more fit for gillsContinue reading “Shabbat Bereshit: Beginning Again, With You”
Va’Era: parashat hashavua commentary
This week’s parashat hashavua, Va’Era, derives its name from a curious assertion on the part of none other than God about the names by which we know God: I am יהוה – I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name El Shaddai, but my name יהוה they did not come to know. (Ex.6.2-3). What’s a bit strange about this is thatContinue reading “Va’Era: parashat hashavua commentary”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 