On Simchat Torah, We Turn and Turn Again
I like the symmetry of the concept of return.
I like the idea that, no matter how linear we think we are, or time is, or God is, we tend to find a way back. Even God recognizes this view: Why else create t’shuvah (repentance) before ever creating the heavens and the earth?
Waving the Flag of Egalitarianism in Israel on Simchat Torah
One of the great paradoxes of being an American Reform Jew who chose to make aliyah (move to Israel) is that the whole concept of majority and minority is turned on its head. One the one hand, as a Jew, I am culturally and ethnically now part of the majority.
Do we literally read the entire Torah in one year, starting on Simchat Torah?
We read the entire Torah over a year, beginning the cycle on the same week as Simchat Torah. The Torah is divided into 54 portions – or parashiyot – and, generally, one portion is read each week on Shabbat.
Every Tu BiShvat Is a Second Chance
Tu BiShvat: How Israel Has Planted New Seeds in the Jewish Soul
Reflecting on Simchat Torah
Thanks to social media and electronic devices you can check in on Foursquare and read the Mishkan T'filah prayer book on a handheld device at the same time. Yet for all the modern inventions, the Torah remains unaffected.
Rethinking the Holy Days
I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.
When the Student is the Teacher: Lessons From a Stack of Old Letters
When a close family friend died, an old stack of our letters reminded me how I had been a teacher to him, even as he had been one to me.
Seeing the Torah With Fresh Eyes
As Simchat Torah approaches, I am ambivalent: a new year offers a fresh start, even as we restart the same narrative the Jewish people have read for more than 5700 years.
How to Supercharge Your Torah Study this Year
Each Monday, ReformJudaism.org shares the gift of the guidance of eminent modern-day scholars and leading Jewish thinkers via Reform Voices of Torah.