FOSTERING A VIBRANT RENEWAL OF JUDAISM IN POLAND
Our perception of what is just and moral evolves over time and it has been the case for thousands of years. Our Torah portion for this week contains a pretty brutal story which, when juxtaposed with its rabbinic reception, is a good example of how our perception of events and moral principles attach to them evolve:
There came out among the Israelites a man whose mother was Israelite and whose father was[…]
Kedoshim tihiyu – You shall be holy (Leviticus 19:2) – that’s how our this week’s parashah, Kedoshim, begins. The opening verses are immediately followed by a set of laws that define what does it mean to be ‘holy’ in our tradition: it means honoring parents, observing shabbat, not getting involved in idolatry, not turning to ghosts or inquiring of spirits, all kinds of things our ancestors learned in Egyptian slavery as well as some pretty specific law like:[…]
R. Yehuda says: When the Israelites stood at the Red Sea, one said: “I do not want to go down to the sea first,” the other said, “I do not want to go down to the sea first,”… While they were standing arguing, Nachshon the son of Aminadav jumped up first and went down into the water and fell into the waves…
At the same time Moses was standing and reciting long prayers before God. Then God said to him, “Moses, my friend is sinking in the water and the sea is closing in on[…]
The Torah portion for this week, Metzorah, talks about various kinds of afflictions, plagues etc. that can make our life very difficult, if not unbearable. To describe these phenomena the Torah uses the word negah (pl. negaim), which is the same language the Torah uses to describe Egyptian plagues.[…]
The ancient Israelites, as well as the Sages of the Talmudic era, generally believed that diseases, including skin afflictions, are a result of sin – an improper or immoral behavior. Separating people from the community for this reason was aimed at stopping the spread of the disease – our ancient ancestors knew that fact very well; what they didn’t understand was the biological mechanism that caused the spread. Additionally, the entire ancient Jewish ‘philosophy of medicine’ was entirely focused on preventive measures and avoidance. (contrary to the Greek model that looked for the[…]
The last Shabbat before Purim is known as Shabbat Zachor, which can be translated into English as the ‘Shabbat of Remember! (imperative)’. On Shabbat Zachor, on top of the regular Torah portion, we read a special maftir, an additional reading. It recalls the vicious attack of Amalekites on the Israelites soon after their Exodus from […]
