Talmud

September 23, 2021

Tov! Chapter 7 — Lying!

On “The Good Place” Chapter 7 is the classic lying episode, and on the podcast Rebecca Rosenthal and I jump off from the Talmud’s analysis of white lies to talk about truth and relationships, how and when we tell people important truths, and how truth emerges between people not just by telling. (Also the Klingon… Continue reading

Education, Elul, Ethics, Feminism, Foregiveness, Gossip, High Holidays, Jewish Education, Justice, Lashon Hara, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Study, Talmud, Television, Torah, Tov! Podcast, Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
August 18, 2021

Tov! Podcast Chapter 3 Is Up!

On “The Good Place” Michael tries to guide Chidi and Janet toward new things, but it’s Eleanor who finds unexpected inspiration because of Tahani. So on the podcast, Jon Spira-Savett and Audrey Marcus Berkman explore reincarnation Jewish-style and who the teacher you need turns out to be. Continue reading

Calendar, Education, Elul, Ethics, Foregiveness, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Jewish Education, Leadership, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Soul, Spirituality, Study, Talmud, Teacher-Student Relationship, Television, Teshuvah, Torah, Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
August 8, 2021

Launching Tov! The Podcast About “The Good Place” and Jewish Ideas

If you're a fan of "The Good Place" and at all connected to Jews or Judaism, try out my new podcast that I'm creating with a bunch of colleagues! Tov! is on all the major podcast platforms, and it will be a fun and interesting way to explore some Jewish texts and ideas. Check out the… Continue reading

Calendar, Education, Ethics, Foregiveness, Gossip, Harry Potter, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Jewish Education, Lashon Hara, Leadership, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Soul, Study, Talmud, Television, Teshuvah, Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Yamim Noraim, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
July 20, 2021

Ahavat Yisrael or Sin’at Chinam — Learning From the Destruction of the Temple

This is the D'var Torah I gave on Saturday, July 17, Shabbat Chazon — the Shabbat preceding the fast of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Romans. I want to tell you a story from the Talmud often taught at this time of year, around… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Current Affairs, High Holidays, Holidays, Israel, Jerusalem, Justice, Lashon Hara, Leadership, Middot, Peace, Taking Sides, Talmud, Tisha B’Av, USA, Yamim Noraim
June 28, 2021

Ships, Planks, and Storms — Looking Back and Ahead

These were my words of Torah at the start of Temple Beth Abraham's annual congregational meeting on June 15, 2021. Though they refer specifically to that occasion in places, I think the Torah here is apt for all of us as we reflect on the past fifteen months and the transitions we in, each in our own… Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Hope, Middot, Patience, Prayer, Soul, Spirituality, Study, Synagogue, Talmud, Temple Beth Abraham, Torah, USA
March 25, 2021

Figuring Out the Talmud’s Last Page on Pesach

Here is a Passover puzzle I was trying to solve today at our siyyum (completion of a section of Torah study) to undo the fast of the first-born (that’s a whole other story). It is the last teaching of Massechet Pesachim, the Talmudic book about Passover. Rav Simlai attended a pidyon ha-ben, the ceremony… Continue reading

Books, Calendar, Daf Yomi, Freedom, Holidays, Jewish Education, Pesach, Talmud, Youth
February 4, 2021

Jewish Sources on Electronics and Shabbat

Next week I'm teaching in our synagogue Ritual Committee about issues relating to the use of electronics on Shabbat, particularly in connection with conducting services. Since I'm gathering source material I thought I would post for everyone the raw material from the Conservative movement. There are certain basic concepts of halacha (Jewish law) that are important backdrop: m'lacha… Continue reading

Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Halacha, Shabbat, Study, Talmud, Torah, Web/Tech
December 7, 2020

Chanukkah — An Adult Festival About Today

You’ve probably heard over and over that Chanukkah is a “minor” holy day. Something we make a big deal about especially in modern America – something especially for Jewish children in a Christmas-saturated environment. It’s true, Chanukkah is no Passover. But in fact, it’s not a new thing, this question about how significant Chanukkah really… Continue reading

Calendar, Chanuka, Current Affairs, Freedom, History, Holidays, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Talmud, USA
June 18, 2020

First Thoughts After George Floyd: Justice Torah From Rabbi Akiva and Ben Azzai

This was my Dvar Torah for (Zoom) services on June 6, 2020. I'm making reference here to the Bar Mitzvah of Seth Brown. I want to thank the Browns again for this simcha and as I told them, usually my words of Torah are light on days like this, but sometimes the world thrusts events at… Continue reading

B’midbar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Ethics, Freedom, Inclusion, Jewish Education, Justice, Naso, Numbers, Study, Talmud, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA
April 7, 2020

My Passover Haggadah Commentary for This Year

I just finished these thoughts. They are a combination of commentaries, reflection pieces, discussion prompts related to the Seder text, the Pesach Haggadah. You could read them before or after a Seder, or even during. Wishing everyone a good festival and a Zissen (sweet) Pesach. https://images.shulcloud.com/544/uploads/Pesach/sederthoughts5780.pdf Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Freedom, Health Care, History, Holidays, Holocaust, Jewish Education, Justice, Pesach, Spirituality, Study, Talmud, Theology, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedakah, Tzedek, USA
January 23, 2020

Daf Yomi: Ch. 2 of Berachot Begins

Again, I'm behind in my post though not my studies… The second chapter of the Talmud begins with a discussion of the concept of kavvanah, which means "intention." The specific issue is whether one can fulfill the mitzvah of reciting the Sh'ma by mechanically vocalizing the sounds, or whether kavvanah is required. The Talmud begins by positing: yes. There… Continue reading

Bavli Berachot, Books, Calendar, Daf Yomi, Jewish Education, Midrash, Prayer, Study, Talmud, Theology
January 20, 2020

Daf Yomi — End of First Chapter of the Talmud!

I am almost up-to-date in my studies, but a bit behind in posting reflections. The first chapter of Massechet Berachot ends with a discussion of two kinds of things that are linked despite being experienced or named differently. One is the series of persecutions and exiles of the Jews. The other is the names of… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Bavli Berachot, Books, Calendar, Daf Yomi, Jewish Education, Prayer, Study, Talmud, Theology, Torah