Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

One of the defining features of traditional Judaism is its careful attention to matters of halakhah (Jewish law). While broader issues of theology and ethics form a significant backdrop to Jewish thought, primary attention is paid to the mitzvot, the sacred commanded deeds of Judaism, and to the kinds of debates which lawyers enjoy. Is something muttar (permissible) or assur (prohibited)? Is something hayyav (obligatory) or reshut (optional)? Read more...

Modern men and women like to pretend that we have a direct pipeline into reality that we know, in an absolute and ultimate way, about ourselves, about the world around us, about true wisdom. Forgetting that previous generations were equally sure about the truths they “knew”, that the earth was flat, that the universe was a few thousand years old, that women were inferior to men, and that we now view their certainties with scorn, we presume that our most cherished verities will last forever. Read more...

With Parashat K’doshim, we begin what the rabbis of the Midrash recognized to be a distinct section of the Torah, "the section dealing with holiness".  In this estimation, they anticipated modern scholarship, which also recognizes a distinct "Holiness Code" within the various strands that comprise our Torah.  Characteristic of this portion of Scripture is the repeated injunction, "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Read more...

With Parashat K’doshim, we begin what the rabbis of the Midrash recognized to be a distinct section of the Torah, "the section dealing with holiness".  In this estimation, they anticipated modern scholarship, which also recognizes a distinct "Holiness Code" within the various strands that comprise our Torah.  Characteristic of this portion of Scripture is the repeated injunction, "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Read more...

Modern men and women like to pretend that we have a direct pipeline into reality that we know, in an absolute and ultimate way, about ourselves, about the world around us, about true wisdom. Forgetting that previous generations were equally sure about the truths they “knew”, that the earth was flat, that the universe was a few thousand years old, that women were inferior to men, and that we now view their certainties with scorn, we presume that our most cherished verities will last forever. Read more...