Essays
What Holds Us Together When the Siren Stops?
We know how to be one people when we are attacked. Remarks on the sixth yahrzeit of Rabbi Sacks on what holds us together afterwards.
Torah et éthique
Vayera
Enough to Save a City
Abraham stops bargaining at ten. Why ten, and what is it about ten righteous people that might save a city?
Behar
Why Is "All Israel Are Responsible" Hidden in the Curses?
The Sages found the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another in a verse of rebuke, because that bond had to survive exile. From there to eleven Jews in Pristina…
Shmini
Strange Fire
After weeks of preparation, on the very day the service of the Sanctuary begins, Aaron's two sons die. The Torah's explanation is the briefest possible: a fire that was not…
Mishpatim
Why Does the Torah Suddenly Turn from Story to Law?
For whole books the Torah tells a story: the patriarchs, the slavery in Egypt, the way out. Then, straight after Sinai, it turns to rules about debts, strangers and an enemy's…
Bo
Why Didn't Moses Talk About Freedom?
Days before the Israelites walk out of Egypt, with the greatest empire of the ancient world on its knees, Moses stands up to speak. He says nothing about freedom, nothing about…
Vayechi
Why Can Genesis Only Close After Forgiveness?
After Jacob dies, Joseph's brothers are terrified that the brother who sent them home with kind words has only been waiting for this moment. From its first brothers on, Genesis…