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From 1 to 10 of 248 articles “If the rabbi resembles an angel of God, he will yearn for the Torah in his mouth; yet, if he does not, thou shall not let him teach you the Law.”
(Babylonian Talmud, Moed Katan 17 a)
by Yerahmiel Barylka
Shavuot is a living festivity today partly because it is mentioned in the Torah, but mainly because it represents G_d's gift to the Jewish people. No longer is it merely an offering to G_d on the part of the people of Israel to show their gratitude for a fertile year, but rather their gratitude for having received knowledge and enlightenment in the laws, commandments and precepts of the Torah.
by Daniela Rusowsky In a new series of interviews with Israelis in every part of the world, we will try to see how life outside Israel influences the Jewish dynamic and the Israeli dynamic. Our first interviewee is the writer Maya Arad, who has lived in Stanford, California, for about a decade.
Interview by Ronny Shani Pesach is the festival that is most present in our minds during the annual cycle of Jewish life. Each Shabbat and in many passages of the Torah, we remember the departure from Egypt, which also is part of our daily prayers. During the Pesach festival, the entire account of the Exodus of the Jewish people is read, in celebration of having obtained freedom. Curiously, despite the importance of this story at the collective level, it is nevertheless a ritual that involves chiefly the family group and is celebrated at home, around the table, where a ritual dinner known as the Seder—literally translated as “order”—is held.
The importance of this ritual is not rooted exclusively in the historic account, but also in the experience, which for many people becomes the strongest link with their Jewish identity. This deep bond is created through the ritual, the family, and the meal, which remains over time as the taste of childhood.
by Daniela Rusowsky This article describes various traditions that can be taken up by way of alternative activities for Purim. It is also a good opportunity for providing an incentive to develop artistic creativity in members of the community. Music, dance, theater and the culinary arts are especially prominent in this festival, as are arts and crafts.
Does your community harbor hidden talents? Are the artists in your community given opportunity to express themselves and contribute? Purim might be an excellent opportunity to do so.
by Daniela Rusowsky The Jewish cycle of life is intrinsically ecological, since to a large extent it is based on the seasons of the year and the relationship of human beings with nature, with their peers, and with G-d. Nevertheless, modern life has gradually changed this perspective and many communities have forgotten our collective responsibility with respect to our surroundings. It is in our hands to do something to bring about a change.
by Daniela Rusowsky The repetition of customs that results from all Jewish rituals, ceremonies, prayers and festivities can foster the integration of people with mental disability, and, in turn, renew the routine of the community receiving them.
by Jose Esses This essay deals with the images of wine in the biblical and Talmudic texts. Talmudic culture is based on the biblical text, which it regards as the sacred foundation of all its ideology, but at the same time, and perhaps for this reason, it constantly is engaged in interpretation of the biblical text, seeing new, previously unnoticed meanings in it. For example, while inheriting from the biblical text a certain attitude toward wine, Talmudic culture develops it further, turning wine into a metaphorical reflection of its own cultural values. By examining the images of wine in the Talmudic texts, we will see how the culture perceives itself by drawing boundaries and altering them.
by Reuven Kipervasser Organizational culture is based on the values shared by people in an organization, people who have an impact on the behavior of that culture – both favorably and adversely. Learning about, understanding and valuing the ethical, symbolic and behavioral codes of the people who form part of a system is vital for our communities to function harmoniously.
by Daniela Rusowsky After the celebrations of Tishrei, the celebration of the renewal of our life cycle and our cultural cycle through introspection and prayer, of realizing how fragile we are as human beings when fasting and when in the Sukkah, and of concluding and reinitiating our annual sequence of Torah readings, the contemporary Hebrew Calendar confronts us with two unbelievably terrible events: the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Z'L at the hands of a Jew, and the Kristallnacht of November 9th, which symbolizes the onset of the greatest catastrophe ever experienced by the Jewish people.
Both experiences call for us to contemplate evil.
According to our most ancient sources, there are many Amaleks, and they all are evil.
by Ariel Andelsman
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