The Ryan Lochte Within C-. That was the grade a crisis management expert gave Ryan Lochte on his recent round of apologies. And that was pretty generous. Lochte has received almost universally negative reviews for how he handled the situation in Rio from beginning to end. How could he have thought, so many have
The Mandate of Universal Jewish Education: Yehoshua Ben Gamla's Legacy Given the prominence of the mitzvah of Torah study in the current parshiot, I'd like to share a perspective on the critical issue of universal Jewish education. The Talmud (Bava Batra 21a) records the classic story of Yehoshua Ben Gamla, founder of universal formal Jewish education: For Rav
Digging Beneath the Surface: The "Deeper Meaning" of Tu B'av What is Tu B'av all about? While many Divrei Torah focus exclusively on the unusual courtship ritual described in the Mishnah and the six (!) explanations offered for the holiday in the Gemara, a deeper understanding emerges from viewing Tu B'av in its wider context in Masekhet
Why This (Saturday) Night Is Different Than All Other Nights Many have noted the numerous connections between the Seder night and Tisha B'av. For instance, according to the classic "Atbash," the first night of Pesach and Tisha B'av always fall out on the same day of the week. Others suggest that the egg of
Remembering Rabbi Maurice Lamm: From Strength Comes Sweetness About seven years ago I was a newly-minted rabbi, having recently begun serving as spiritual leader of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Synagogue. I saw Rabbi Maurice Lamm at a family occasion - Tova, his great-niece, and I had married a few years prior - and he quickly began
On Brexit and Passionate Moderation Commentators throughout the West have struggled to account for Britain's Brexit vote. Perhaps the most insightful have pointed to the politics of identity-by-rejection. In a sarcastic yet insightful piece, Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum put it this way: Last week, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party,
Who Will Remember Memorial Day? A 2006 survey [http://www.gallup.com/poll/22957/Memorial-Day-Allows-Time-Relaxation-Family.aspx] ahead of Memorial Day found that a mere 7% of Americans were planning to attend a Memorial Day observance of any kind. Unfortunately, this pretty much sums up the challenges facing Americans, as we (hopefully) struggle with the dispiriting
Remembering HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"l on his First Yahrtzeit In honor of HaRav Lichtenstein zt"l's first yahrtzeit, here [https://docs.google.com/a/koheletyeshiva.org/file/d/0BxTqBWS5aRe3RmxyTFpXTTgtNHM/edit] is a recording of the moving program we held last year on May 20 in the Kohelet Beit Midrash. May Rav Aharon's life and
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Returns to Kohelet Last night the Kohelet Yeshiva Beit Midrash was once again honored to host Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks for an extraordinary lecture on the subject of his new book, "Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence." Last year I enjoyed the privilege of engaging in a public
A Note on Religious Doubt With Shabbat Zakhor approaching, and in light of the classic Hasidic identification of Amalek with religious doubt (Amalek and safek are both 240 in gematria), I’ve been giving some thought recently to the theme of religious doubt. Having recently reread Dr. Lamm’s classic essay “Faith and Doubt [http:
Schism and the Calendar Traditionally considered to have been established by fourth-century sage Hillel II, the contemporary Jewish calendar provides for an additional month of Adar seven times in nineteen years. (This year is the nineteenth.) It is worth recalling, though, that in earlier times there was no set calendar. Instead, a beit din,
Torah Study on Shabbat: A Match Made in Heaven Parshat Vayakhel opens by informing us that Moshe Rabbeinu gathered the entire community and conveyed to them the laws of Shabbat. Noting that no other parsha in the Torah with the term vayakhel, and implicitly attempting to account for the link between this phrase and the day of rest, the
The Mystery of the Ketoret The Incense is among the most mysterious of Jewish rituals. In Parshat Tetzaveh, for instance, the Golden Altar, upon which the Incense is offered, is listed not with the Copper Altar but some three chapters later. Why is the Ketoret’s altar seemingly misplaced? The Incense’s wider role is
Toward a Storytelling Renewal in Our Community My wife and I recently matched a personal best, seeing two movies in a single week. I wrote about my impressions of the first, Spotlight, here [https://www.tzvisinensky.com/2015/12/29/spotlight-earning-the-trust-of-our-community/]. A few days later we saw Brooklyn, the moving tale of a female Irish immigrant who
Honoring One’s Father and Mother: The Infinitude of a Commandment Kibbud av va’em appears to be distinctive among the Ten Commandments, which appear for the first time in Parshat Yitro. First, its placement in between the mitzvot bein adam la-makom (commandments concerning man and his Maker) and bein adam la-chaveiro (commandments concerning man and his fellow man) is noteworthy,
Were We Worthy of Redemption? Were we worthy of redemption from Egypt? The obvious response is yes. After all, why else did God take us out? Moreover, a classic series of midrashic teachings support this notion. Two such texts (Shemot Rabba 1:28, Vayikra Rabba 32:5) teach that the Jews were redeemed because they
Shabbat: A Time for Community It’s interesting to consider the ways in which our zemirot, traditional songs, reflect profound insights into the significance of Shabbat and our holidays. One particularly intriguing example is closely connected to Parshat Bo. In the song “Kol Mekadesh Shevi’i” we declare that “kol adat yisrael ya’asu oto
Moshe Wasn't Perfect - And That's OK The story of the Exodus is gathering momentum. God appears to Moshe, promising that the time has come to redeem His people. Moshe is commanded to confront the most powerful man on earth and demand his nation's release from bondage. But just as things are becoming interesting, the
Spotlight: Earning the Trust of Our Community My wife and I try and see at least one movie each year. Earlier this week we "heretically" chose to forego the new Star Wars movie and see Spotlight instead. As it turns out, we did not regret our choice. Indeed, as both a rabbi and a concerned
Asarah Be-Tevet: Seizing the Moment It is common practice for discussions of Asarah Be-Tevet to refer to R. David Abudarham (14th-century Seville), who rules that were the tenth of Tevet to fall out on Shabbat we would fast on that day as opposed to pushing the fast to Sunday. As a prooftext, Abudarham invokes the
Neo-Chasidut and the Future of Modern Orthodoxy This past Sunday the following cryptic message appeared on my Twitter feed: Breaking News: #UofPWest Chanukah Chabura TONIGHT! #zoschanukah #nesgadol #hegiyahhazman What is the meaning of the cryptic message, and why does it matter? Let’s begin with #UofPWest. U of P refers not to the University of Pennsylvania but
The Eyes of the Menorah The connection between this week’s haftarah and Chanukah is at once immediately obvious and completely obscure. Addressing the small remnant of impoverished Jews who had returned to Jerusalem and were struggling to rebuild the Temple, the prophet Zechariah relays a series of optimistic visions. Amongst these he predicts that
Al Hanissim and Halakhic Innovation At first glance, the notion that we can raise an optional mitzvah to the level of obligation is anathema, even heretical. We are familiar with the prohibition of bal tosif, which dictates that an individual may not add a mitzvah beyond the 613 legislated by the Torah. Yet, with regard
What's in the Name Mincha? According to one classic view in the Gemara (Berachot 26b), the obligation of daily prayer is derived from a verse in Parshat Chayei Sarah, “Vayetze Yitzchak la-su’ach ba-sadeh lifnot arev,” “Yitzchak went to meditate in the field toward evening” (Bereishit 24:63). Chazal’s association, however, raises an immediate
The Art of Civil Disagreement About six months back, an article [http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/05/in-praise-of-the-dying-art-of-civil-disagreement] entitled “In Praise of the Dying Art of Civil Disagreement” appeared in the journal First Things. The author recalls an incident in which he and a colleague engaged in a spirited but respectful dispute concerning
