Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

There is a picture of my wife and me, taken almost twenty years ago when we were still dating, which I think of as a Jewish version of "Whistler's Mother." In this photograph we are standing in the classic Whistler's Mother position (though dressed in early 90s grad student casual rather than New England farmer) but instead of a farm implement I am holding several wooden dowels which are attached to many lengths of string. The picture was taken at the end of a weekend campout at the Vermont redoubt of the Bread and Puppet Theatre. Read more...

Preparing to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, the Israelites know that they must provide not only for their physical requirements in the desert, but for their spiritual needs as well. This week's Torah portion continues the discussion of the building of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle), the portable site of worship that our ancestors carried with them throughout their wanderings. Read more...

This week's parasha contains what may be one of the most unexpected mitzvot in all of Torah - one that not only seems to be without a clear reason, but which also seems to risk violating one of the most sacred principles in all of Judaism. As part of the extended instruction for how to build the mishkan, the portable sanctuary that would serve as the Israelites' center of worship while in the desert, God tells Moshe to build an ark, which will hold the stone tablets on which the Aseret haDibrot, the Ten Utterances, are inscribed. So far, so good. Read more...

It is close to four a.m. and along with thousands of people I am walking, almost running, towards the Kotel on Shavu'ote morning. It is still dark out, the air still cold and a sense of urgency swirling all around. Like ants making their way out of their hole, so too we squirm our way out of the batei midrash (study halls) and homes where we had spent the night learning. Preparing to receive the Torah. For many years this was the path of the journey. Read more...

What is it to write a poem about war? About death and destruction? About salvation and redemption? This week's Torah portion contains one of the most famous poems in the Torah - the Song of the Sea/Shirat Hayam. The images and metaphors in this poem are powerful and inspiring. The song imagines both realistically and fantastically the events at the splitting of the sea, it brings the reader to a moment of ecstatic praise, and then supplies the words of praise themselves. The poem moves from description to praise of God deftly and beautifully. Read more...