Frighted with False Fire
At the end of the second act of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet designs a clever trap, a custom-written play-within-a-play, in the hope that its actors will lead Denmark's treacherous King Claudius to indict himself in the plot that killed Hamlet's father.
Staying Hungry
You might think that religion would be most successful in societies where a particular religion is able to establish itself and maintain a monopoly, but history has shown that this is not the case.
Va-et’chanan: “Talking Torah"
Parenting is not only the greatest blessing of my life, but it is also the most incredible learning experience of my Judaism.
The Empty Ark
In our parashah this week, Moses instructs the Israelites that they must not interpret their inheritance of the Promised Land as a sign of divine acknowledgement of their spiritual worth (Deuteronomy 9:4-6).
The Medium and the Message
Last week, after getting a glimpse of the Promised Land, but finding out that he would not enter it, Moses began his farewell address. What does he choose for his parting words? A story . . . the story of the lives of many of his listeners. Why does he tell it? Didn't they know their own story?
Rosh Chodesh Elul
Parashat R'eih concludes with details concerning our sacred calendar (Deuteronomy 16). While other books tell of how to keep the holy days, here we see the reasons why. A rationale is given to the timing and rituals of our holy days.
Eco-Kosher's Biblical Roots
For almost twenty-five years, since his article, "Toward an Ethical Kashrut," was published with Rebecca Alpert in the journal Reconstructionist in the spring of 1987,1 Rabbi Arthur Waskow has been talking about standards of kashrut that extend beyond the traditional ritual re
“Fear Not”
Moses prepares his people for the battle awaiting them on the other side of the Jordan River, saying: "When you [an Israelite warrior] take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots-forces larger than yours-(lo tira) have no fear of them, for the Eternal your God, who b
Putting Elul to Work
Four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, forty years of wandering in the desert: imagine how the legends of the Land of Israel that must have been told.
Transgressions Transformed
In the Bible, much of the legislation transmitted by God to Israel is reassuringly unambiguous. When he seeks to establish God's rules, Moses frequently defines distinct categories into which things are sorted; some are permitted and others are forbidden.