Are Women Counted in the Book of Numbers?
If I asked you to imagine a scientist in your mind’s eye, what image would emerge? A balding man in a white lab coat? A woman wearing thick glasses? A millennial glued to a laptop? How many of them would be women? This becomes relevant when we think of takin a census. Census-taking rolls like a sand dune through& Parashat B’midbar, which is also the Hebrew name for the fourth book of the Torah that we begin reading this week, known as the Book of Numbers in English. More than once in Numbers, God issues an order to count heads.
Women Facing Abuse as Suffragists and in the Torah
Did you know that Gloria Steinem’s grandmother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem , was not only a sisterhood president of her Reform congregation, but also a suffragist? The legacy of activism in the Steinem family, paired with lessons learned from Parashat Naso, reminds us to be on guard against gender-based discrimination meant to preserve an unjust status quo.
Nevertheless, She Persisted… to Fill the World with Divine Blessings
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
Are There Limits to the Revelation Received at Sinai?
Limping into Holiness
In December 2005, Stanley "Tookie" Williams, cofounder of the Crips, the violent Los Angeles street gang, was executed by lethal injection, paying the ultimate price for his violent past.
On the Holiness of Shmutz
A young man comes to a rabbi and says, "Rabbi, I would like to study Talmud with you."
"Very nice," says the rabbi. "May I ask what background you have in Talmud?"
"None," says the young man.
"I see," says the Rabbi. "Have you studied the Mishnah, which lies at its core?"
Haazinu for Tots
A guide to help adults learn how to engage young children in a discussion about this week’s Torah portion.
Down Payment on a Debt of Gratitude
My dad died this past summer. It was a good death. He was ninety-five years old, couldn't see or hear very well, and had a heart condition. But he got up every day, bathed and fed himself, took care of his dog, and stayed busy.
The Boundary at the Table: Forbidden Foods and Us
Just now, American society is reexamining the way it eats. Michael Pollan, in his best-selling book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manefesto , advises distinguishing between food and some of the poor imitations for food that we currently ingest (New York: Penguin Group, 2008).
Sh'mini: Your Body is a Temple
Once upon a time in a parallel universe that has yet to emerge, just one year from now, I had-or perhaps I should say, I will have-the most interesting experience: my heart stood still.