Friday, April 26th 2024 |
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Pirkei Avot, the collection of Rabbinic aphorisms known widely as “Ethics of the Fathers,” includes a concise statement by Ben Hei-Hei: “L’fum agra skhara: The reward is commensurate with the labor.” A principle with many applications! Hard-working students are more likely to excel, just as diligent employees rightly earn advancement. Those who are attentive, caring, supportive, giving friends elicit devotion and affection in return. A...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
It is customary for the Seder leader to dress in a kittel — the white robe associated with High Holy Day worship and traditionally worn by bridegrooms under the Chuppah. The Kittel also serves as one component of traditional burial shrouds. Each of these occasions represents a liminal moment, a time of transition.
On Rosh Hashanah we move from the old year to the new,...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The claim that there is an inherent conflict or tension between science and religion is, for Jews, a slanderous misrepresentation. Some of our greatest rabbinic leaders were both people of profound faith and accomplished scientists.
Maimonides taught that it is our mission to serve God through use of our intellect, our capacity for critical thought and inquiry. He was personal physician to Saladin and authored...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Recipes for Charoset – a time-honored Seder symbol with a prominent place on the Seder plate – vary, but generally include, minimally, apples, wine, cinnamon, and nuts. Some add sugar, dates, bananas, pomegranate, and other distinctive ingredients.
Each year, I personally prepare Charoset by the gallon, so as to provide for the Seder ritual (Charoset is eaten together with Maror and again in the “Hillel...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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 prohibition against “graven images” – see Exodus 20:3-4)… and reflects the fundamental Jewish principle that God is entirely non-corporeal.
Rabbinic authorities have also maintained the value of refraining from graphic...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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, also, to swear on the road.” The “Holy Tongue” does, indeed, facilitate active participation in Jewish ritual and synagogue worship anywhere in the world, but a working knowledge of Hebrew...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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 rider! Reverence for age is a deeply ingrained Jewish value, vociferously enforced by the Israeli commuting public.
Why rise before the aged? In practical terms, such deference accommodates the predictable...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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 Amalek, demanding we destroy all traces, all descendants of this ancient foe (Deuteronomy 25:19). The verses prescribing this bellicose Commandment were the very first I learned to chant from the...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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 servant’s prayers were answered (Genesis 24:15).
Our prayers are not always answered so quickly, nor always as we wish. An exception to this principle is Mourner’s Kaddish (as, too, any...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
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 and literal! While the king and his attendants “went by the way,” a detractor, Shimei ben Gera, “went along the hillside opposite him, and cursed as he went, threw stones...
