judaism

Shabbat: October 16-17 2009

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 5:52pm
in

Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. This week we return to the beginning of the Five Books of Moses, having read the concluding passages of the Tanakh in the past two weeks. Rather than continuing to pursue direct biblical exegesis every week on this blog, I feel that it would be appropriate to explore the importance of applying the lessons of Torah to our modern lives. So, every week I will be inviting you to think about how some element of Torah can manifest in your daily existence by analyzing the words, themes and history of particular passages, some from the parsha, some from the haftarah and some from other sources like the psalms or other supplementary texts. This week we will be looking at one of the larger meanings of the creation story as well as the haftarah from Isaiah that accompanies the first portion of the Tanakh.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

West Bank Story: An Israeli-Palestinian Musical

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Mon, 10/12/2009 - 6:54pm
in

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn't exactly the richest source of levity and entertainment in the world. Most of the humor related to it relies on shock value to deliver its commentary, which unfortunately removes the heart from the true human struggle of those caught in the middle. West Bank Story, a musical comedy short by Ari Sandel and Kim Ray, manages to present the street-level sentiments of the conflict that, while occasionally goofy, still goes a long way to identify the common bonds of people on both sides.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

A Reader Question Response: Numbers 12

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 3:05pm
in

Recently, a reader named Dawn submitted a few questions in our comments section that I believe deserve to be featured here on our front page, so I'm going to take this time to answer these inquiries in full. The questions concerned both a comment I made in a previous article about interracial relations in the Jewish community, and one of the more striking events from the reading that includes Numbers 12.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Shabbat: Parsha V'Zot Ha'Berachah

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Thu, 10/01/2009 - 5:40pm
in

Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha V'Zot Ha'Berachah, Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12.

This week's parsha is the final portion of the Five Books of Moses. In it, Moses stands before all of the Israelites and says his final words, a blessing to each of the twelve tribes. He enumerates the essence of what those tribes represent and the nature of the path each of them will follow in the days to come.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Shabbat: Parsha Ha'azinu

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 7:58pm
in

Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Ha'azinu, Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52.

This week, we read from the penultimate parsha in the Tanakh, the Five Books of Moses. Ha'azinu is a poem, the second to last poem he ever recited. It is, without a doubt, a piece meant to literally put the fear of God in his people. But we can't look at the verse of Ha'azinu as a stand-alone piece. Indeed, the last thing Moses ever does before he dies in next week's parsha is speak a blessing over the Israelites. Anyone who has spent a decent amount of time studying Torah should know that this order of events is significant. The fear is not the last word, but the blessing. Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 4:53pm
in

For those of us who grew up in the Jewish community, the High Holy Days are synonymous with long ritual services at the local synagogue and large meals with friends a family. But really, the days in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are arguably more important than the services themselves. Judaism, as I often try to convey, doesn't happen in the sanctuaries of our temples or the libraries of our scholars. None of the lessons of the Torah mean anything if we do not actively incorporate them into our lives.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Shabbat: Parsha Nitzavim-Vayelech

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Fri, 09/11/2009 - 2:23am
in

Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Nitzavim-Vayelech, Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30.

This week's parsha is fairly brief. All in all, it feels like a sort of narrative capstone for the previous few parshiot, a kind of philosophical breather. On one level it is a review of basic themes and a sort of stepping-back perspective moment. The terms are broad and general, referencing elements of older passages, specifically the blessings and curses as well as some of the fallen cities from biblical history.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Shabbat: Parsha Ki Tavo

2 Comments: Join In!
Submitted by msarko on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 2:39am
in

Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8.

Ki Tavo is one of the most well-known parshiot in the rabbinic tradition and certainly one of the most oft-quoted. This is the parsha of Blessings and Curses, a great litany of the ills that will befall those who do wrong and the benefits following those who keep the mitzvot. I have personally heard those passages read and interpreted by several rabbis, yet I've never heard one reading that I feel captures the true essence of what this parsha is trying to say, or for that matter how it goes about saying it.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Person of the Week: Hillel The Elder

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 1:46am
in

Judaism is a religion of scholars and has been since the beginning. Many great thinkers occupy positions of the utmost honor and respect today, but once in a while certain sages attain a sort of super-stardom in Judaic philosophy. Perhaps no scholar in Jewish history is more well-known and popular than a quasi-mythic figure named Hillel.

Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Explaining Messianic Judaism

Be the First to Comment!
Submitted by msarko on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 8:25pm
in

Many people have heard the term "Messianic Judaism" and are unaware of exactly what it is. Further adding to the confusion, someone who has little knowledge of mainstream Judaism may interact with individuals or writings in the Messianic faith and have little means of distinguishing it from what most Jews consider the central tenets of Judaism. It is important to understand that Messianic principles are not traditional Jewish principles. This is not to say they are bad, only that they differ much more significantly than the name suggests. Read more

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Comment Live About This Article!