Recently, I was poring over some of the stories of famous women in the Bible – the matriarchs, Queen Esther, and others – and a detail, one that I had not previously noticed, caught my attention. All of these women are described as physically beautiful. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is so beautiful that Abraham has to […]
Beauty: An Inherent Jewish Value? Read More »
One of humanity’s first errors was to hide from the all knowing God among the trees of Eden (Genesis 3:8). So it is paradoxical, perhaps, that even in private prayer we cover ourselves to encounter God. This covering cannot be an attempt to hide anything. It cannot serve the function of interpersonal modesty or cultural
The Majestic and the Everyday: Clothing for Blessings and Prayer Read More »
Because our bodies are receptacles of our souls, and vessels of God’s light, we must keep them healthy and consider carefully what we put into them. Traditional Jewish thought suggests that we must keep our bodies well for the sake of spiritual pursuits and in order to fulfill mitzvot. Today however, a focus on fitness
A Jewish Approach to Wellness Read More »
In the matter of tzniut, the first question is theological. Why were we fashioned with bodies – when the Creator could have made us of souls alone? What is the purpose of our physicality; what manifestation of holiness does the vessel, the kli, of our bodies make uniquely possible? I contemplate this question almost daily,
Behold, You Are Beautiful Read More »
The Tanakh seems to draw our attention to clothing in many stories. It is highlighted in the stories of Adam and Eve’s banishment from Gan Eden, of Joseph and his ketonet passim (coat of many colors), and of Esther who donned queenly robes, to name a few. How did the parshanim (biblical interpreters) reconcile this
You are What You Wear: Clothing in Biblical Interpretation Read More »
A number of years ago, I had occasion to travel to Japan with a few friends. It was a wonderful opportunity and gave us a chance to experience firsthand a strikingly different culture from our own, as we encountered the combination of ultra-high modernity and Old World heritage for which the Japanese are famous. One
Exposing Tzniut: Reflections Towards a Redefinition of Modesty Read More »
A mitzvah or hesed project can provide young people celebrating their Bar or Bat Mitzvah with the perfect opportunity to reflect on who they are, who they want to be, and how they can best have an impact on the world. The self-reflective process of choosing, designing, and implementing a mitzvah project can serve to
HaTov Ve HaMeitiv: Good for Oneself and For Others Read More »
Women in Israel seem to be breaking barriers on nearly every front. A female head of the Supreme Court (MK Dorit Beinisch), a female head of the opposition (MK Tzipi Livni), a female Major General (Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai), and two female heads of major banks (Shari Arison and Galia Maor) are a few of
The New Tehilla: Ethnic Diversity and Religious Feminism Read More »
A well-known midrash teaches that before birth, God matches each soul with its future mate (B.T. Sotah 2A). We like to think that God has another task relating to those as yet unborn: matching those whose biological parents will be unable to raise them with their future families. The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 19b) states, “Whoever
Welcoming an Adopted Child Read More »
“Sarah lived one hundred years and twenty years and seven years.” Genesis 23:1 Why does the Torah split up the tally of Sarah’s years into three parts [“one hundred years,” “twenty years,” and “seven years”]? To tell us that every day of her life was the equivalent of them all. At the age of one
Living with Joy in the Third Stage of Life Read More »
