Drip-Drip (The Oldest Story)
Only a few generations prior, things seemed stable and peaceful.
Only a few generations prior, things seemed stable and peaceful.
For the last eight years since I’ve been a Midwestern rabbi, I’ve stood by the premise that ‘the periphery is the cutting-edge.’
In Jewish mysticism, there exists the concept of ‘Adam Kadmon’, the Primordial Adam.
The eighth day, with its solemnity and final prayers for rain and repentance, lead into the joy of Simchat Torah.
It is important to note that there is a distinction between grieving a person and grieving a reality.
The rabbinic sage Elisha ben Abuya witnessed an obedient and pious boy fulfill the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird, as per the Torah’s instructions. He ascended the tree, shooed away the bird, collected the eggs and then fell to his death.
Moses and the Israelites have been wandering through the wilderness and have arrived at the edge of the Promised Land.
Few things are as instructive as seeing Judaism through another’s eyes.
Our grief is raw and real and is scattered across disorienting winds of pain.