Some years ago, I was talking with one of my brothers about the plans I had with my mother for Mother's Day. Knowing from his tone and body language that he was about to be contrary for the sake of being contrary, I listened as he said something like 'Now, I am not saying we shouldn't celebrate it, but why do Jews need Mother's day? Read more...

"Halachic Concepts in Hassidic Thought, or, Hassidic Concepts in Halachic Thought" is a class that I have the honor of sharing with Rabbi Aaron Alexander this semester (www.zieglerpodcasts.com). It stemmed from a fantasy of mine to write a doctorate on this topic, but truth be told, it flourished into something that has brought us, and our students, far greater joy. Read more...

This week's parashah, Emor, is known as Torat Cohanim, the teaching for/of the Cohanim. Whereas the previous sections of the Torah focused on the holiness code for all the people, this section reads as a manual for the priests, instructing them on attaining holiness through their own set of symbolic obligations, duties, and maintenance. Read more...

One of the defining features of traditional Judaism is its careful attention to matters of halakhah (Jewish law). While broader issues of theology and ethics form a significant backdrop to Jewish thought, primary attention is paid to the mitzvot, the sacred commanded deeds of Judaism, and to the kinds of debates which lawyers enjoy. Is something muttar (permissible) or assur (prohibited)? Is something hayyav (obligatory) or reshut (optional)? Read more...

In an age that struggles with the paradox of pockets of fabulous abundance and global poverty and devastation, of power enough to alter the climate but a seeming inability to prevent the recurrence of slavery, in democracies that can’t inspire constituents to bother voting and totalitarians that won’t permit their people’s will to surface, today's Torah portion offers some insight.  Instructing the Israelites on the laws of priestly conduct and the calendar cycle, God then speaks to Moses, saying "Command the Israelite people to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for ki Read more...