Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

It is one of the first and most powerful responsibilities given to those of us who are parents: give that child a name. Is it any surprise that the various streams of Judaism culture, and other cultures as well, have folk traditions that offer guidance for this process (so, for example, Ashkenazi Jews often name children for deceased relatives, while Sefaradim name for grandparents and other living relatives)? Moreover, the moment when the name is bestowed is often ritualized. Read more...

Do we have to cross-over to inherit "Heaven" or "Hell"? Is it possible to experience either of them while still in one's lifetime? How did Moshe navigate his continuous movement between the realms of reality between which he continuously vacillated? How can you be a leader of people when you are also defined as "Ish Elokim" – a man of God, a spouse to God? Read more...

The synagogue where I grew up, Ahavath Achim in Atlanta, Georgia, had a gift shop with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying a varied assortment of items. Among my earliest memories of shul-going, I loved to look at the glittering kiddush cups and havdallah sets,magen david jewelry, ironic aprons and sports-themed  kippot sitting in the windows. Read more...

When my children were young, they fell in love with Disney's The Lion King. We saw the film three times in the theater and owned all the paraphernalia Disney would sell us. We played the soundtrack in the car each morning on the way to school, belting out the film's stirring theme song, "The Circle of Life" until one morning I listened to the words. Read more...

During 5773 (aka the 2012-13 academic year), I wrote as a blogger for the journal Sh'ma. I and the other participants in this endeavor would receive the up-coming issue of the journal a bit in advance of its publication, and then write a short piece on our own thoughts and reactions to the theme and/or individual essays in the issue, which were then posted on the Sh'ma website. Read more...