“To me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians,” declares the Lord. “True, I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but also the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir.” — Amos 9:7 The Jewish people’s unique relationship with God — and our inherent holiness — pervades our tradition and history.
“Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.” — Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why
“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelings, O Israel!” — Numbers 24:5 This verse is attributed to the soothsayer Bilaam, who was asked by King Balak of Moab to curse the Israelites. From above the encampment, Bilaam looks down and blesses them instead. In a commentary on this verse, Rashi notes that the
“The Lord spoke further to Moses: Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God. No one at all who is blind, or lame, or who has a limb too short or too long; no man who
“And God heard the voice of the boy.” — Genesis 21:17 The boy is Hagar’s son, Yishmael. But the Torah does not call him by his name; rather, it takes its cue from Sarah, who calls him “the slave girl’s son.” She is angry at the way Yishmael treated her son, Yitzchak. She is tormented
“The Torah was commanded to us from Moshe; its inheritance is the community of Jacob’s.” — Devarim 33:4 Near the end of the Torah reading cycle, we are reminded that this holy, rich, and complex text is the inheritance of “kehillat Yaakov,” the community of Jacob. An interesting mashal, or tale, in VaYikra Raba explains
“Initially, God’s intent was to create a world and hold it to a standard of strict justice, but God realized that the world could not thus endure and therefore gave precedence to divine mercy, allying it with divine justice.” — Rashi on Genesis 1:1 The commentator Rashi attributes to God an original but unfulfilled intent.
And I will betroth you unto Me forever; I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving-kindness, and in compassion. And I will betroth you unto Me in faithfulness; and you will know God. — Hosea 2:21-22 Many observant Jews utter these lines each morning as they wrap the straps
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” Leonard Cohen nails it! We can let go of striving for an illusion of perfection and embrace our brokenness. It is not a distraction from the path; it is the spiritual path of our everyday lives. But how do