Natural, Unnatural, and Supernatural: Commentary on Sukkot 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
Some 700 years ago, a young rabbi named Ya’akov HaLevi Moelin visited his father the morning after Yom Kippur and was shocked to discover him at a construction site in the Rhineland. Ya’akov’s father, Rabbi Mosheh Moelin, was assembling his sukkah with little […]
Going Nowhere, With Love: Commentary on Parashat Vayyelekh 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
One of my favorite contemporary Hebrew expressions to hear on the phone is “אֲנִי כְּבָר בָּא” (ani k’var ba), which means literally “I am already coming.” I have heard it used by Israelis who are in a car and actually en route to their next meetup, […]
Remember Who You Come From: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tavo 5782
By Ben Abrams, Rabbinical Student at Hebrew Seminary
The Israelites are reminded of their wandering, humble past when they are instructed to recite the formula אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י (Arami oved avi, “My father was a wandering Aramean”),[1] words that today are a critical part of the Haggadah we read on Passover. The […]
Be Human; Let Them Graze: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tetzei 5782
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President & Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
In a Biblical court of law, the ox stood a chance.
When Moses, in Parashat Ki Tetzei dictates to the Israelites a law about the treatment of oxen in the field, it appears at […]
Magic and Mystery in the Clouds Down Here: Commentary on Parashat Shofetim 5782
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
One week ago today, I prepared myself for Shabbat by putting on a nice button-down shirt and shrouding myself in mystery.
To paint the picture a bit more clearly, I should backtrack.
Like all rabbis, I am both an heir to and a messenger […]
How We Look at Things: Commentary on Parashat Re’eh 5782
By Rabbi Dena Bodian, Hebrew Seminary alum, ordained 2010; College Chaplain and Campus Rabbi at Wellesley College
This week’s parashah starts seemingly with a command: רְאֵה (Re’eh, “See”) (Deuteronomy 11:26). Just as earlier in the Book of Deuteronomy, we encountered the first […]
Fixing the Broken Peace: Pinechas and the Outbreak of Violence
By: Rabbi Jonah Rank, Hebrew Seminary President & Rosh Yeshivah
As I write these words, 15 days after the mass shooting at the Highland Park 4th of July Celebration 2022, our news outlets continue to share updates about victims, their families, and the community. This senseless act of gun violence impacted our own community at Hebrew […]
Parashat Naso
By Ezra Kiers
Have you ever made a decision when you’re angry and wondered, “Could I have had a different outcome if I’d been calm?” Well, you’re not alone.
I had intended…
Wait. Let me start again, this time in the present. I intend…
Ugh. I have no idea what I intend, what I had intended, what I will have intended.
What I know is that I love the English pluperfect– past, present and future, all rolled into one. Even more than the pluperfect tense, I love that in Hebrew, we consider not necessarily past, present or […]
By Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer
In last week’s Torah portion, members of the community of Israel profane themselves by engaging in licentious behavior with Moabite women and worshiping the Moabite god. Hashem becomes incensed with Israel and tells Moses to impale the leaders committing these actions. “The Lord’s wrath may turn away from Israel.” (Numbers 25:4) Pinchas witnesses an Israelite consorting with a Midianite woman […]
