It would be comfortable and familiar to say, “Well of course, this is what Rabbi A.J. Heschel meant when he coined the phrase “a palace in time” – he was no doubt relating to why our Torah portion begins with the laws of Shabbat and continues with the building of the Mishkan (tabelnacle).” But I would like to take us on somewhat of a different journey. I have been accused of picking on one word of the Torah portion when crystallizing my thoughts, so I have chosen this week to limit myself to one vowel! Read more...

Until very recently, common knowledge maintained that Judaism prohibited works of art.  Read more...

We live in an age of technical expertise and calm deliberation. Civilization has now moved to such smooth functioning that there are forms for every occasion and dispassionate experts who keep the system moving along. What we seem to be a little short of is passion—caring deeply about an ideal, an individual, or a cause, and a willingness to devote our talents, energy, and minds to the service of that cause. Read more...

In describing the attributes of Bezalel, the artist who fashioned the Mishkan (Tabernacle) where the Israelites worshiped in the wilderness, the Torah says that he "was filled with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge."  These traits, according to Midrash Sh'mot Rabbah are not only the virtues necessary to establish a site of Torah learning and observance, they are also, in fact, the very traits that God relied on to create the world: "With these three things the world was created, as it says in the Book of Proverbs, The Holy One with wisdom founded the earth; with u Read more...

The only two certainties of life are death and taxes.  That American proverb accurately reveals our obsession with death.  Throughout human history, great thinkers, spiritual giants, poets, and doctors have devoted their best energy and strongest talents to defeating death.  Occasionally we celebrate minor victories in the skirmish against mortality – we find the cure for a once-fatal illness, a new diet allows people to live a little longer or a little better.  But we win those battles knowing that the war will ultimately be lost forever.  Each of us has to die. Read more...