This Thing Makes God Appear: Commentary on Parashat Shemini 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
I trust scientists when they report that bees can see ultraviolet, a color beyond the human visible spectrum. My own time using microscopes back in a high school science lab assured me that amoebae and cells compose a dynamic microbiological world that my own eyes […]
Why God Loves Good Meals: Commentary on Passover 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
As we anticipate another Passover seder, our minds may be on the guests who will enter our homes and eat the food we have prepared for this holy moment. But what makes the seder the seder has never been merely the guests who grace us with […]
When Aaron Went to Eden: Commentary on Parashat Tzav 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
When we make a big mistake, an animal impulse inside us invites us to run away—and the bigger the mistake, the farther we may wish to flee. We may wait before we reach out again to a friend we offended, whether intentionally or not. We […]
Here and Wherever: Commentary on Parashat Vayyikra 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
Translated into polite English, an old Yiddish saying roughly goes, “You can’t dance at two weddings with only one body.” Once Zoom became so prominent in the pandemic, we grew accustomed to entering spaces virtually while remaining physically at home. Somehow where we were in body was […]
The Head of the Heart, Through the Hand: Commentary on Parashiyyot Vayyakhel-Pekudey 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President & Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
There are three kinds of H-Jews: Head Jews, Heart Jews, and Hand Jews. So goes a teaching that has been attributed variously to two great North American rabbis: Dr. Harold Schulweis (1925–2014) and Dr. Neil Gillman (1933–2017). The Head Jew is an […]
A Time for Apes and God: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tissa 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
When a few Jewish researchers exposed the resident apes at the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute to a few ritual objects that epitomize the Passover seder, one chimp examined the maror and, in a chimpanzee dialect of American Sign Language, signed “BITTER CRY FOOD.”* […]
Books for Justice & Justice for Books: Commentary on Purim 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
The public reading of the Scroll of Esther each Purim when I was a rabbinical student entailed far more than waiting to boo and to shake groggers to drown out the sound of Haman’s name. The congregation would chant special verses highlighting Esther’s heroism […]
Giving God God: Commentary on Parashat Terumah 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President & Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
This past summer, my family was blessed to be able to move to a new home. To make this new residence our own, a few repairs and upgrades have demanded of my family to acquire a few new handy skillsets—but really just a few. Understanding our limited […]
Facing the Challah: Commentary on Parashat Mishpatim 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
For many years, I tried not to roll my eyes whenever I encountered the following question-and-answer combination:
QUESTION: At our Shabbat meal, why do we cover the challah when we recite Kiddush over the grape juice or wine?
ANSWER: Because we don’t want to embarrass […]
Our Ten Utterances: Commentary on Parashat Yitro 5783
By Rabbi Jonah Rank, President and Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary
The Ten Commandments simply aren’t what they used to be.
To be perfectly honest, we do not know exactly what the Ten Commandments are. The approximately 10 legal statements that Jews and Christians call “the Ten Commandments” appear both in this week’s torah portion, Yitro (at Exodus 20:2–14), […]