By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Isaiah Berlin, the twentieth century political theorist, historian, and champion of liberty, was a Knight Commander of the British Empire and received the Jerusalem Prize for his lifelong commitment to civil rights. He traced his ancestry directly to Shneur Zalman of Lyadi, founder of Chabad...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Throughout my childhood, my father regaled me with stories of the intense piety of his maternal grandmother – my great-grandmother – Esther Malkah. The seemingly mystical quality of our family forebear was enhanced by the fact that Esther Malkah shared her name (meaning “Queen Esther”)...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Israelites who, during the Second Temple Period, were particularly scrupulous in observance of ritual purity and tithing were called “Chaverim” – friends, comrades, members of an elite fellowship. Many farmers, and rank-and-file manual laborers, typically unable to maintain the same level of ritual purity (due...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
An imaginative Mishnah (Tamid 3:8) teaches: “From Jericho, they could hear the sound of the Temple gate opening” – many miles away – in Jerusalem. They could also hear the Temple herald; the flute and cymbals accompanying the sacrificial service; and the singing of the...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Once central to everyday Jewish piety, the Laws of ritual purity have, for the most part, fallen into desuetude. These ancient practices, however, still offer considerable wisdom and guidance concerning challenges confronting us in the twenty-first century. Mishnah Kelim 12:7, for example, teaches:
“If a...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
There is considerable meaning and moral insight in the very name of the Festival of “Shavuot” – the Feast of “Weeks” (beyond the mere timing of Shavuot relative to Passover).
Days, months, and years are measures of time based in astronomical reality. The Earth takes...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The Biblical law of personal damages (Exodus 21:28-29), codified by the Rabbis (Baba Kamma Chapter 1), teaches that an ox which fatally gores a person is itself put to death. Its flesh may not be consumed… but its owner is not otherwise punished. If, however,...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The Talmud contemplates the powerful legacy of historical anniversaries: “Good things tend to recur on a date with a history of auspicious good fortune, and misfortune tends to befall us on dates with a history of tragedy” (Taanit 29A). We mourn on the Ninth of...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
When visiting a cemetery, it is customary to place small stones or pebbles atop the monuments of those whom we have come lovingly to remember. Some understand this practice as an act of kindness to the bereaved: subsequent visitors, seeing the pebble left behind, will...
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By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Simon Greenberg (1901-1993) was a congregational Rabbi, Seminary administrator, and architect of Conservative Judaism. He observed: “Our ancestors have made it quite difficult for us to be original.”
Rabbi Greenberg understood that, though contemporary Jews may think we are living in novel times with unforeseen...
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