Mindful Torah...and more

In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, one definition of dichotomy is “ a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities.”   The term often gets used interchangeable with “binaries” or “binary opposition.” Though there are differences, I will be using the terms somewhat interchangeably (my apologies to queer theorists, anthropologist, philosophers and many friend).   I especially want to focus on the concept of   “binary oppositions,” where the guiding the assumption is that there exists a pair of terms that are seen as opposites and that there is a clear distinction between the two.   Not only that, but that societal “norms” (especially race, gender, sexuality, etc.) tend to determine which one of the two opposites is viewed as the dominant (or preferable, in my opinion) pole. Dividing the world into dichotomies or binaries leads to “black and white thinking.”   Something is bad or good, pleasant or painf...

This is a reworking of a commentary posted last year. I apologize for not providing a new commentary, but such is my life these days.  May you all have a joyous Shabbat and Sukkot. SPN  ----------------- Though this evening is Shabbat, it also the middle of the festival of Sukkot . As one of the three pilgrimage festivals (along with Pesakh /Passover and Shavuot) it is one of the three times per year when our ancestors would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This pilgrimage was to give thanks to God for the fall harvest and to pray that the coming months would bring adequate rain for next year’s crops. The day after Sukkot ends, on the festival of Shemini Atzeret (which some view as the last day of Sukkot) the Jewish people around the world begin to insert the prayer for rain in our daily liturgy. On the Shabbat of Sukkot, it is also customary to read from the biblical book of Kohelet /Ecclesiastes during Sukkot. This biblical book begins with the well known “F...

It seems that every year Ha'azinu ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 32:1-52)is a parashah that I have skipped over in my Torah commentaries. I find this fascinating, as it is such a rich portion. However, this year, as with most years, it falls on Shabbat Shuvah (the Sabbath of Return), which falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. So here I sit, in the midst of  teshuvah /repentance, as well as leading a number of services,  trying to think about what this parashah means. I am trying my best to be mindful and in the moment, yet I find myself drawn into the future ...a week from now ... when Yom Kippur begins.  Such is life in this moment. So I will make a brief commentary, which actually makes for a nice change of pace! The parashah consists of Moses's final speech to the people before he is to die. It is written as a poem, and begins: 1 Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter! 2 May my discourse come down as the rain...

This week's Torah parashah /portion, Nitzavim-Vayelekh ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 29:9 -31:30), is one of seven double portions that are read it is not a leap year so that all 54 portions of the Torah will be read in the course of a year. This double portion is found near the end of Moses' discourses to the people that he delivered prior to his death. He begins this oration by telling the people that he is addressing his remarks to all those who "stand this day, before the Eternal your God. To enter into the covenant God swore to your ancestors. I make this covenant, both with those who are standing here with us this day and with those who are not with us here this day." One classical interpretation of this is that Moses is speaking not merely to those that have died, but of all the souls yet to be born. Therefore each of us is just as present at this mythic moment as were our Israelite ancestors. Later in the parashah Moses says to the people, "Th...

This week's parashah /portion is Ki Tavo ( Devarim / Deuteronomy 26:1 -29:8). The opening words, from which the parashah takes it's name mean "when you enter," and refers to the ritual that the people are meant to enact when they enter the Promised Land and bring their first fruits as an offering. When the people bring the basket of first fruits to the priest we read (translation by Richard Elliot Friedman): "And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of YHWH, your God. And you shall answer and say in front of YHWH, your God:   My father was a perishing Aramean, so he went down to Egypt and resided there with few persons and became a big, powerful and numerous nation there. And the Egyptians were bad to us and degraded us and imposed hard work on us. And we cried out to YHWH ... And YHWH brought us out from Egypt ... to this place and gave us this land ... and now, here, I've brought the fir...

I just wanted to drop a short line to my faithful readers (no pun intended).  As some of you may know, I have been in the throes of ending one job, beginning a new one and preparing to move. That is why I  have not had the time or energy to write a meaningful commentary these last few weeks. I will resume in the near future. In the meantime, I leave Amherst, MA today for Hamilton, NY, where I will be the Associate Chaplain and Director of Jewish Life at Colgate University.  I am thrilled about this new position.  The school and the people there are really wonderful, and I've no doubt it will be a great place to work.  But regardless, transitions are always difficult.  So I am trying to practice what I preach and be mindfully in the moment as I embark on this new adventure. See you soon in the blogosphere! B'shalom, spn PS I am still available to visit people's communities as a teacher or scholar/artist in-residence, so please feel free to contact ...

This week we read Parshat D'varim the first parashah (portion) in the book of D'varim /Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22). The Book of D'varim consists primarily of three addresses that Moses makes to the people of Israel before he dies and they enter the Promised Land. These addresses are part spiritual preparation, part ethical will and part reminder and warning. During his first address, Moses reminds the Israelites of  40 years earlier at Kadesh-barnea , when he sent 12 spies to scout out the Promised Land. However, the version he tells here differs greatly from the original telling in Be'midbar/ Numbers (13:1-14:45). In the original telling God commands Moses to appoint one scout from each of the 12 tribes to reconnoiter the land and bring back a report. When they return, they all agree that the land is flowing with milk and honey. However, 10 out of the 12 spies report that the people there are like giants and that they will not be able to conquer them. Only...