The use of the visual arts – painting, sculpture, etc. – especially for devotional purposes, has been limited in Jewish tradition. In part this is in deference to the second of the Ten Commandments (the...
The rebirth of Hebrew as a living, spoken language is one of the great miracles of modern Jewish history. Israeli politician Yair Lapid said, “Hebrew is the language I use to thank the Creator and,...
Mi-pnei seivah takum – “Rise before the aged!” This Biblical Commandment (Leviticus 19:32) is conspicuously posted on Israeli busses. Woe to the passenger of relative youth who neglects to surrender his seat to an elderly...
Amalek, the archetypical enemy of the People Israel (and ancestor of Haman), launched a ruthless attack against the Israelites during the wilderness period, targeting the weakest and most vulnerable. The Torah requires unrelenting war against...
When Abraham’s servant was dispatched to find a bride for Isaac, he offered a prayer for the success of his mission. “Before he could even finish speaking,” Rebecca (the future Matriarch of Israel) appeared: the...
Mudslinging – attempting to advance one’s own political standing through the denigration and derogation of one’s opponent – finds its origins in the Hebrew Bible. King David was the victim of mudslinging – both metaphorical...
The Book of Jonah records the prophet’s flight from God and his three days in the “belly of the whale” (literally, “great fish”). Jonah is subsequently “vomited” by the whale onto dry land (2:11), where...
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz describes the Talmud as “perhaps the only sacred book in all of world culture that not only permits, but even encourages the student to question it.” As soon as they are able,...
The synagogue has many Hebrew names, indicating its multiple functions. It is a Beit Tefillah (House of Prayer). The synagogue is a Beit Midrash (House of Study). The Sages decried as a deadly sin referring...
Preservation of life and health is such a primary Jewish value that virtually all Commandments and religious obligations are thereby rendered secondary. The dangerously ill must eat on Yom Kippur. Emergency transportation and medical care...
