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charge: it is upon you not only to study the scholars that came before you, but also to generate your own creative interpretations of Torah (a word that can encapsulate a broad swath of Jewish sacred texts, as I’ll discuss further on). In other words, we were not only to learn from the ancient commentators — we were to become the commentators of to
... See moreAdina Allen • The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom
A medieval sage, Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (Rosh, 1250?–1327), insists that this mitzvah of receiving people warmly applies not just to one-on-one encounters but also to the way we carry ourselves in public. “Let not your face be angry toward passersby,” he says, “but receive them with a friendly countenance.”48 How we comport ourselves in the world m
... See moreShai Held • Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life
Our sages say that a person's livelihood is a greater miracle than the splitting of the Red Sea (Pesachim 118a).
Lazer Brody • Bitachon: A Practical Guide to Trust in God
Through Shavuot, Jewish people reaffirm their destiny as the people of the Unfinished Covenant, the carriers of the once and future redemption.
Irving Greenberg • The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays
A borrower who possesses the means is forbidden to withhold money [that belongs to] his fellow, [telling the lender]: “Go and return and tomorrow I will pay,” as it is written:39 “Do not tell your colleague: ‘Go and return and tomorrow I will pay’ when you possess [the means].”
Sichos In English • Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Volume 12: Choshen Mishpat
I like that the language of Torah is vague enough, capacious enough, pregnant enough as to offer us two readings which contradict each other in every conceivable way, and are nevertheless both technically correct. For what is this Torah supposed to be, if not infinite?
David Kasher • ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary
Jew who has fallen into poverty [by] giving him a present or a loan, entering into partnership with him, or finding him work so that his hand will be fortified and he will not have to ask others [for alms]. Concerning this, it is written (Vayikra 25:35): ‘You shall support him, the stranger, the resident, and he shall live among you.’ Implied is th
... See moreSichos In English • Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Volume 12: Choshen Mishpat
“On Rosh HaShana it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed…who will live and who will die,” we still go on to say, “But teshuva, prayer, and charity avert the evil of the decree.”