The lives that we live are all about journeys through the desert of time. The journeys that we have already traversed; the journey we are currently engaged in; and the vision of what journeys we hope to embark upon in the future. Throughout Jewish history, the single place of renewal and transformation was the midbar, … More »
Shavuot is z’man matan torateinu – the time of the giving of the Torah. Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (6:17) describes Torah as one of three gifts that were given to the world, as it says, quoting Exodus 31:18: “When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, God gave – gifted – Moses the two tablets … More »
A colleague of mine once related to me that she was leading a program at the local community center. Prior to the program’s start, she went to the lobby to wait for a pizza delivery. For roughly fifteen minutes she was looking for a short male of Hispanic descent, wearing loose jeans. Finally, a tall, … More »
In a few weeks, we will sit down at our seder tables and tell the story of our redemption from slavery. The Mishnah prescribes that the story of the Exodus should present a contrast: beginning with humility and ending with glory. The entire seder experience serves as a reality check. When the rabbis constructed the … More »
“Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said: Whoever derives benefit from this world without first reciting a blessing is regarded as if he has stolen from God and the community of Israel” (Berachot 35a-b). The relationship between the recitation of blessings and God is clear, for God is the One who created the fruit of the vine … More »
Prior to my arrival at Park Avenue Synagogue, I lived on the Upper West Side for seven years and I davened at Kehilat Hadar. Hadar, founded in 2001 in the basement of a church, is the forebearer of the independent minyan movement that has become a buzz in the Jewish press nationwide. What first attracted … More »
“If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman” (Deut. 15:7) This section of the Torah is most concerned with what we … More »
From the time of the New Testament and onward the Akedah became a battleground for answering the question ‘Who inherits the legacy of Abraham?’ The New Testament and Church Fathers were relentless in their reading of the binding of Isaac as a prefiguration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You can probably guess that … More »