Parashat Kedoshim: The Mirror

May 4, 2009 Irwin Keller

Maybe holiness is merely an embodiment of the kindnesses and justice that these laws set in motion. And maybe that is what God is – the sum total of kindness and justice unleashed upon a world that doesn’t clearly require it for survival.

The Omer: From Bondage to Bonding

April 28, 2009 Irwin Keller

The vocabulary of Pesach is basic for many of us. Our tongues speak words of liberation in many of our politics and theologies and life stories. But these forty-nine days remind us that it is not enough to achieve freedom “from.” Freedom is also “for.” But for what?

Parashat Tzav: Peace Porridge

April 3, 2009 Irwin Keller

So these are the Peace - or Wholeness - Offerings. Or as a recipe, this might be called the Peace Porridge. Torah then gives ingredients. Three types of offerings that fall into the Peace offering rubric. They are: neder, nedavah, and todah.

After 28 Years: It is Again Evening, It is Again Morning, the Fourth Day

March 27, 2009 Irwin Keller

Like an eclipse or a comet, Birkat HaChamah makes me feel both big and small. Certainly tiny in relation to the Heavens; but somehow large in knowing that I, too, am a naturally-occurring part of all this vastness. The blessing we make is purposely vast. Instead of using our usual morning liturgy in which we bless God for creating the heavenly lights, in this instance we bless God as Oseh Ma'aseh V'reishit -- the catalyst of all Creation.

Mishpatim 5769: Saving Your Enemy’s Sorry Ass and Other Gateways to the Divine

February 23, 2009 Irwin Keller

Our Jewish relationship with law is complex. Many of the laws in our Torah are designed for a people living autonomously in ancient times and therefore have, for most of the time they’ve existed, been inapplicable or impracticable or preempted by the laws of whatever country we’re living in. And yet we still accord them an odd place of honor in our spiritual life. We walk around judging ourselves to be “bad Jews” when we don’t follow some Jewish law that we’re still somehow conversant in. What is it that makes us feel a little something extra about this body of law?