Adulting through Chanukah, part 2
Psalm 30 is a resource for Hanukkah and the whole year, reminding us to acknowledge the darkness, insecurity, and weeping we may be experiencing before we move on to celebrating
Read More…Thirty on Psalm 30
Adulting through Chanukah, part 1
Yes, we must take responsibility for the survival of our people, but — without direct command from God — we must tread very carefully….
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The Pits and the Lights
One list of dedications includes “dedication of the House” (“habayit”) in what seems like a chronological order, from creation of the world, to world to come; the other uses the expression “hamikdash,” in a list culminates with “Sanctuary.”
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Dedications
One list of dedications includes “dedication of the House” (“habayit”) in what seems like a chronological order, from creation of the world, to world to come; the other uses the expression “hamikdash,” in a list culminates with “Sanctuary.”
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Mouse and Menorah
In Perek Shira, as noted in the previous two posts, verses from Psalm 30 join a chorus of praise in which “each of God’s creatures, plants and animals, mountains and rivers, sings out to its Creator in a special way.” Our prayers, are part of a “cosmic symphony” says Rabbi Arthur Green: The prayers of […]
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And the Mouse Says…
In addition to the swallow, the mouse [עַכְבָּר] also speaks a verse from Psalm 30 in Perek Shira: עַכְבָּר אוֹמֵר. אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב) And the Mouse says, “I extol You, O LORD, for You have impoverished me/lifted me up, and not let my enemies rejoice over me.” (Ps. […]
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Glory and the Swallow
Ps. 30:13, discussed in several post here, appears in Perek Shira, a long, ancient hymn to creation in which the earth, ocean, lightening bolts, dew, and many creatures each speak a verse from Tanakh. Many of the quotations are from Psalms, but also Job, Song of Songs, the Prophets, and other texts. Ps. 30:13 is […]
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Glory versus Silence
As noted previously, one of the key aspects of “kavod,” however it and the rest of Ps. 30:13 is translated, is its opposition to silence. We looked at Rabbi Shefa Gold’s practice about “finding the glory inside,” by examining whatever might be silencing us/our glory, and “pouring it out to God” (Gold’s teaching). Returning to […]
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There’s Glory for You! — Part 2
In “The Spirit of Prayer,” Abraham Joshua Heschel warned: It is not enough to know how to translate Hebrew into English; it is not enough to have met a word in the dictionary and to have experienced unpleasant adventures with it in the study of grammar. A word has soul and we must learn how […]
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There’s Glory for You! – Part 1
It is usually instructive to notice where translators vary in rendering a particular phrase. Verse 13 yields a lot of variety.
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I Called; We Called
Chanting separately and together, we offer and receive some of the human connection that is part of how prayer is answered.
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SHIYR Psalm 30
A few posts back, I shared a thought from Making Prayer Real on the idea of music as “prayer in itself, without the words attached” (Wordless Verses“) along with a largely instrumental piece based on a tune for few verses from Psalm 30. More on that specific tune to come. Meanwhile, here is a contrasting […]
Read More…Modern Midrash
Dedication of THIS House
Spending extra time with Psalm 30 over these last few weeks, inspires this prayer.
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Rosetta, Miami Temple, and the Winter Jews
As a child singing in front of a choir, Rosetta Nubin was forbidden by her mother to bend over and pick up coins tossed at her by white visitors to the church. She discovered by accident, however, that a large brimmed hat could collect coins without her bending or her mother’s knowledge. This particular recollection, […]
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The Well of Sight, Seeing, Seen
“Ishmael, Isaac, and a Reunion of Cousins” raised questions about what it means for Isaac to settle at Beer Lahai Roi, the wellspring that is already home to Ishmael, after the brothers have buried their father, Abraham. The Shalom Center proposes bringing this story (Gen 25:7-11) into the Days of Awe to suggest “turning and […]
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Ishmael, Isaac, and a Reunion of Cousins
Reading descendants of Isaac and Ishmael as members of Jewish and Black communities today raises new questions about shared histories and future reconciliations.
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A Song of Reward and Punishment
Exploring Babylon Chapter 22 Here is further response to a long-ago comment of Max Ticktin (z”l), based on the words of Jeremiah and in a sort of homage to Leonard Cohen. “Has this song gone on too long? A song of reward and punishment for exiles in Babylon and elsewhere” The theme repeats again and […]
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Dick Gregory and Rabbis Under Rome
“Joseph found out it’s dangerous to be a dreamer….Or sell the dreamer into slavery; purchase the dream with foundation grants or government deals…” Dick Gregory, in 1974, sounded a whole lot like Rabbis under Roman rule.
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Warring Nations, Sibling Tears
The Torah portion Toldot (Gen. 25:19 – 28:9) illustrates the struggles of nations and individuals. We are simultaneously the inheritors of this mess and the participants – all of them – in the heart-breaking. So, I want to look at the sad state we’re in and see if we can find a way through by […]
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Teapots in Babylon
My personal connection to the language of “Babylon” has been growing for some time…
Read More…Foreign and Familiar
In this week’s Torah portion, two of the central characters receive new names: Abram becomes Abraham (Gen 17:4), and Sarai, Sarah (17:15). God announces this to Abraham as part of a statement of the covenant between them. Both Abraham אַבְרָהָם and Sarah שָׂרָה now have a “ה” (hey) in their names. Thus, each now carries […]
Read More…Power, Language, and Settling: Questions from Joseph’s Story
The Joseph story, which begins in this week’s Torah portion raises questions about language, about power and how it is used, and about the possibility of learning an entirely new narrative about a story of which we are a part: How does the language we use, even inside our own heads, affect the way we […]
Read More…Traveling With Jonah: Pre-Yom Kippur Thoughts
By the time we approach minchah on Yom Kippur afternoon, we have been through the month of Elul, Selichot prayers, Rosh Hashanah, and a substantial portion of the Day of Atonement. The role that the Book of Jonah plays at that point is one thing. But I’ve been wondering if it might not be of […]
Read More…Tzipporah’s Eye View at the DC Sermon Slam
I have always lived among priests and prophets. I know that some divine encounters prove more terrifying than illuminating. And I believe there is much to be learned about Revelation by turning away from Sinai’s thunder and lightening. Consider for a moment that time Miriam and Aaron complained about Moses and his black wife and […]
Read More…Exploring Babylon
Babylon and 929
Babylon — in fact, “The Three ‘Bavels’” — is featured this past week on the English portal for “929,” chapter-a-day study in the Hebrew Bible: The place name, בבל, bavel can refer to: Babel, Babylon, or Babylonia. Each of these ancient “Bavels” suggests a model for the 21st century…. The rise of Bavel/Babylonia was a […]
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Now What? Exploring Babylon Stage Two
I launched the “Exploring Babylon” project on this blog in October 2017. Stage One was to run for roughly 40 weeks, from Sukkot through Tisha B’av. WordPress statistics tell me that I’ve posted 40 times in the category, “Exploring Babylon,” although not entirely on the weekly schedule I’d originally planned, and Tisha B’av is fast […]
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Strange and Familiar
Exploring Babylon Chapter 23 Although just published (May 2018), Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” was completed in 1931, based on work begun in the 1920s. Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon relates the story of a West African and his experience, before, during, and after U.S. slavery. Some of the content, as well as […]
Read More… A Song of Reward and Punishment
Exploring Babylon Chapter 22 Here is further response to a long-ago comment of Max Ticktin (z”l), based on the words of Jeremiah and in a sort of homage to Leonard Cohen. “Has this song gone on too long? A song of reward and punishment for exiles in Babylon and elsewhere” The theme repeats again and […]
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Notes on Jeremiah: Max Ticktin’s Scribbles
Exploring Babylon Chapter 21 Several updates below. In addition to the many other things he left us, Max Ticktin z”l (1920-2016) left behind a lot of books, and his family kindly offered them to interested community members. Some of the volumes I inherited this way are from a Tanakh that was re-bound, as a gift […]
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Trauma and Migration Studies, The Book of Job, and Babylon
In follow up to the chapter on monsters and storytelling,which touched on the intersection of immigrant experiences and trauma, some thoughts on migration studies and #ExploringBabylon.
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