"Flute Player", Reuven Rubin (1938)

A.J. Heschel

"Abraham Heschel et le Concile Vatican II", Edward Kaplan (2015)

וְהִבְדַּלְתָּ֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָ֥יוּ לִ֖י הַלְוִיִּֽם

Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine. 

וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן֙ יָבֹ֣אוּ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם לַעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְטִֽהַרְתָּ֣ אֹתָ֔ם וְהֵנַפְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֖ם תְּנוּפָֽה

Thereafter the Levites shall be qualified for the service of the Tent of Meeting, once you have cleansed them and designated them as an elevation offering. 

כִּי֩ נְתֻנִ֨ים נְתֻנִ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ לִ֔י מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תַּחַת֩ פִּטְרַ֨ת כָּל־רֶ֜חֶם בְּכ֥וֹר כֹּל֙ מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לָקַ֥חְתִּי אֹתָ֖ם לִֽי

For they are formally assigned to Me from among the Israelites: I have taken them for Myself in place of all the first issue of the womb, of all the first-born of the Israelites. 

כִּ֣י לִ֤י כָל־בְּכוֹר֙ בִּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה בְּי֗וֹם הַכֹּתִ֤י כָל־בְּכוֹר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם הִקְדַּ֥שְׁתִּי אֹתָ֖ם לִֽי

For every first-born among the Israelites, man as well as beast, is Mine; I consecrated them to Myself at the time that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt. 

וָאֶקַּח֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם תַּ֥חַת כָּל־בְּכ֖וֹר בִּבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

Now I take the Levites instead of every first-born of the Israelites; 

וָאֶתְּנָ֨ה אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֜ם נְתֻנִ֣ים ׀ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּלְבָנָ֗יו מִתּוֹךְ֮ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ לַעֲבֹ֞ד אֶת־עֲבֹדַ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וּלְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֨א יִהְיֶ֜ה בִּבְנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ נֶ֔גֶף בְּגֶ֥שֶׁת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ

and from among the Israelites I formally assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, to perform the service for the Israelites in the Tent of Meeting and to make expiation for the Israelites, so that no plague may afflict the Israelites for coming too near the sanctuary. 

Numbers 8:14-19
 

Abraham Lincoln

"Lincoln, Bible and Leadership", Rabbi Meir Soloveichik

Nuvem

Bob Dylan

"Murder Most Foul"

Vida

An Andean or spectacled bear

Argélia

"Anti-Jewish Violence and the Colonial Situation in French Algeria", Steven Zipperstein

עִ֣יר קְטַנָּ֔ה וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים בָּ֖הּ מְעָ֑ט וּבָֽא־אֵלֶ֜יהָ מֶ֤לֶךְ גָּדוֹל֙ וְסָבַ֣ב אֹתָ֔הּ וּבָנָ֥ה עָלֶ֖יהָ מְצוֹדִ֥ים גְּדֹלִֽים

There was a little city, with few men in it; and to it came a great king, who invested it and built mighty siege works against it.

וּמָ֣צָא בָ֗הּ אִ֤ישׁ מִסְכֵּן֙ חָכָ֔ם וּמִלַּט־ה֥וּא אֶת־הָעִ֖יר בְּחָכְמָת֑וֹ וְאָדָם֙ לֹ֣א זָכַ֔ר אֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ הַמִּסְכֵּ֖ן הַהּֽוּא

Present in the city was a poor wise man who might have saved it with his wisdom, but nobody thought of that poor man. 

וְאָמַ֣רְתִּי אָ֔נִי טוֹבָ֥ה חָכְמָ֖ה מִגְּבוּרָ֑ה וְחָכְמַ֤ת הַמִּסְכֵּן֙ בְּזוּיָ֔ה וּדְבָרָ֖יו אֵינָ֥ם נִשְׁמָעִֽים

So I observed: Wisdom is better than valor; but A poor man’s wisdom is scorned, And his words are not heeded. 

Ecclesiastes 9: 14-16

"Terrified Old Man", Leonard Baskin (c. 1950)

Illustration from the Holman Bible (1890)

וַיֵּ֤רֶד יְהוָה֙ בְּעַמּ֣וּד עָנָ֔ן וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד פֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֑הֶל וַיִּקְרָא֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן וּמִרְיָ֔ם וַיֵּצְא֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם

The LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; 

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א דְבָרָ֑י אִם־יִֽהְיֶה֙ נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם יְהוָ֗ה בַּמַּרְאָה֙ אֵלָ֣יו אֶתְוַדָּ֔ע בַּחֲל֖וֹם אֲדַבֶּר־בּֽוֹ

and He said, “Hear these My words: When a prophet of the LORD arises among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. 

לֹא־כֵ֖ן עַבְדִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה בְּכָל־בֵּיתִ֖י נֶאֱמָ֥ן הֽוּא

Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. 

פֶּ֣ה אֶל־פֶּ֞ה אֲדַבֶּר־בּ֗וֹ וּמַרְאֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א בְחִידֹ֔ת וּתְמֻנַ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה יַבִּ֑יט וּמַדּ֙וּעַ֙ לֹ֣א יְרֵאתֶ֔ם לְדַבֵּ֖ר בְּעַבְדִּ֥י בְמֹשֶֽׁה

With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the LORD. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” 

Numbers 12:5-8

Veneza

A memorial plaque to Venice's Holocaust victims in Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Venice

Vida

A Cuban white-fanned anole, Anolis homolechis, spreading its dewlap in courtship or territorially in Vinales, Cuba

Jonathan Sacks

"How to Lead a Good Life in Divided Times"

Sinédrio

"The Sanhedrin", from an 1883 encyclopedia

"Unorthodox"

Trailer

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו זֹ֤את הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִ֠שְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָ֨ם לְיִצְחָ֤ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹב֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֖ אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה הֶרְאִיתִ֣יךָ בְעֵינֶ֔יךָ וְשָׁ֖מָּה לֹ֥א תַעֲבֹֽר

And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will assign it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there.” 

וַיָּ֨מָת שָׁ֜ם מֹשֶׁ֧ה עֶֽבֶד־יְהוָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מוֹאָ֖ב עַל־פִּ֥י יְהוָֽה

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there, in the land of Moab, at the command of the LORD. 

וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ר אֹת֤וֹ בַגַּיְ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מוֹאָ֔ב מ֖וּל בֵּ֣ית פְּע֑וֹר וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע אִישׁ֙ אֶת־קְבֻ֣רָת֔וֹ עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה

He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor; and no one knows his burial place to this day. 

Deuteronomy 34, 4-6

Israel

Alan Dershowitz on Israel ("L'Chaim")

Eva

"Eva", Lucas Cranach the Elder (1528)

Vida

A heron at Zoom Torino zoo in Cumiana, near Turin, Italy

Shortly after dawn, or what would have been dawn in a normal sky, Mr. Artur Sammler with his bushy eye took in the books and papers of his West Side bedroom and suspected strongly that they were the wrong books, the wrong papers. In a way it did not matter much to a man of seventy-plus, and at leisure. You had to be a crank to insist on being right. Being right was largely a matter of explanations. Intellectual man had become an explaining creature. Fathers to children, wives to husbands, lecturers to listeners, experts to laymen, colleagues to colleagues, doctors to patients, man to his own soul, explained. The roots of this, the causes of the other, the source of events, the history, the structure, the reasons why. For the most part, in one ear out the other. The soul wanted what it wanted. It had its own natural knowledge. It sat unhappily on superstructures of explanation, poor bird, not knowing which way to fly.

Beginning of "Mr. Sammler's Planet", Saul Bellow (1970)

An ultra-Orthodox youth in Jerusalem, March 16, 2020

כִּ֣י כֹ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֖ה לְבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל דִּרְשׁ֖וּנִי וִֽחְיֽוּ

Thus said the LORD To the House of Israel: Seek Me, and you will live. 

Amos 5:4

 

Coronavírus

"A D'var Torah on Vayakhel-Pekudei in the age of the coronavirus pandemic", Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

לֹֽא אָמ֥וּת כִּי־אֶֽחְיֶ֑ה וַ֝אֲסַפֵּ֗ר מַֽעֲשֵׂ֥י יָֽהּ

I shall not die but live and proclaim the works of the LORD. 

יַסֹּ֣ר יִסְּרַ֣נִּי יָּ֑הּ וְ֝לַמָּ֗וֶת לֹ֣א נְתָנָֽנִ

The LORD punished me severely, but did not hand me over to death. 

(Psalm 118)

Salmo

Psalm 118 in Hebrew, Talya G.A Solan & Tula Ben Ari 

Vida

A hornbill feeds on banana near Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in the Morigaon district of Assam, India

Arca

A print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations

Moshe Halbertal

"Radical Responsibility" (2013)

"The Egyptians Urge Moses to Depart", Gustav Doré

Coronavírus

‘Go home!’: Mel Brooks and son Max share a comedic PSA on the coronavirus

David Wolpe

Rabbi David Wolpe on Antisemitism at the EIPC (2019)

Tekoa

"The Steinsaltz yeshiva in Tekoa"

Vida

 

A platypus is released on to a log in Little Yarra River, Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia

Daniel Gordis

"The Rift between American Jews & Israel: 

The Conventional Explanation & Why it is Wrong", Daniel Gordis (2020)

וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָֽם

The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. 

וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה

On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done.

וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת

And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done. 

Genesis 2:1-3

 

"Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon", John Martin (1816)

Lou Reed

"Dreamin' (Escape)"

"If I close my eyes I see your face
And I'm not without you
If I try hard and concentrate
I can still hear you speak
I picture myself in your room by the chair
You're smoking a cigarette
If I close my eyes I can see your face
You're saying, "I missed you"

Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'

If I close my eyes I can smell your perfume
You look and say, "Hi baby"
If I close my eyes pictures from china
Still hang from the wall
I hear the dog bark I turn and say
"What were you saying? "
I picture you in the red chair
Inside the pale room

Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'

You sat in your chair with a tube in your arm
You were so skinny
You were still making jokes
I don't know what drugs they had you on

You said, "I guess this is not the time
For long term investments"
You were always laughing
But you never laughing at me

They say in the end the pain was so bad
That you were screaming
Now you were no saint but you deserved
Better than that
From the corner I watched them removing things
From your apartment
But I can picture you red chair and pale room
Inside my head

If I close my eyes I see your face
And I'm not without you
If I try hard and concentrate I can hear your voice saying
"Who better than you"
If I close my eyes I can't believe that
I'm here without you
Inside your pale room your empty red chair
And my head

Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'
Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'
Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'"

"Dancing in front of the Golden Calf", Alexander Ivanov (19^th century)

וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אַחֲרֵ֣י מ֔וֹת שְׁנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן בְּקָרְבָתָ֥ם לִפְנֵי־יְהוָ֖ה וַיָּמֻֽתוּ

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the LORD. 

Leviticus 16:1

 

Vida

 

A juvenile jackfish peers out from inside a small jellyfish, 

which it has adopted as an overnight travelling shelter, off Tahiti in French Polynesia

Purim

 

Jewish ultra-Orthodox men celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim in Bnei Brak, Israel (March 10, 2020)

"Purim - The Holiday of Jewish Solidarity", Rabbi Meir Soloveichik

Purim

Israel

וְאִשָּׁה֙ כִּֽי־תִהְיֶ֣ה זָבָ֔ה דָּ֛ם יִהְיֶ֥ה זֹבָ֖הּ בִּבְשָׂרָ֑הּ שִׁבְעַ֤ת יָמִים֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה בְנִדָּתָ֔הּ וְכָל־הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ בָּ֖הּ יִטְמָ֥א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב

When a woman has a discharge, her discharge being blood from her body, she shall remain in her impurity seven days; whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 

Leviticus 15:19

Jacob Milgrom

Daniel Block on Collaborating with Jacob Milgrom (2018)

Vida

"Nadav and Avihu Punished", Pieter Tanjé (1791)

Jonathan Sacks

 

A conversation between Rabbi Sacks and Bari Weiss, 

about his new book "Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times"

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֣ל אֶל־יִשַׁי֮ הֲתַ֣מּוּ הַנְּעָרִים֒ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר ע֚וֹד שָׁאַ֣ר הַקָּטָ֔ן וְהִנֵּ֥ה רֹעֶ֖ה בַּצֹּ֑אן וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֤ל אֶל־יִשַׁי֙ שִׁלְחָ֣ה וְקָחֶ֔נּוּ כִּ֥י לֹא־נָסֹ֖ב עַד־בֹּא֥וֹ פֹֽה

Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?” He replied, “There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send someone to bring him, for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here.” 

וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח וַיְבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙ וְה֣וּא אַדְמוֹנִ֔י עִם־יְפֵ֥ה עֵינַ֖יִם וְט֣וֹב רֹ֑אִי (פ) וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יְהוָ֛ה ק֥וּם מְשָׁחֵ֖הוּ כִּֽי־זֶ֥ה הֽוּא

So they sent and brought him. He was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” 

I Samuel 16:11-12

Purim

Scroll of Esther (19th century)

Bob Dylan

"I Threw It All Away"

"I once held her
In my arms
She said she would
Always stay
But I was cruel
I treated her like a fool

I threw it all away

Once I had mountains
In the palm of my hand
And rivers that ran through
Every day
But I must have been mad
I never knew what I had

Until I threw it all away

Love is all there is
It makes the world go ’round
Love and only love
It can’t be denied
No matter what you think about it
You just won’t be able to do without it
Take a tip from one who’s tried

So if you find someone
Who gives you all of her love
Take it to your heart, don’t let it stray
For one thing for certain
You will surely be a-hurtin'

If you throw it all away
If you throw it all away"

 

David Grossman

Judaism (2019)

Vida

Desert locusts swarm on a tree in Bilayolo village in Kitgum district, Uganda

Cracóvia

Jewish Culture Festival Krakow, Poland. July (2013)

Nova Iorque

"New Amsterdam", now called "New York" (from a print dated 1667)

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Philosophy of Yom Kippur

Purim

 מגילת אסתר / Esther Scroll, Genève, Bibliothèque de Genève, 

by the famous engraver Shalom Italia, Amsterdam (circa 1641)

Felix Mendelssohn

"Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14", Jan Lisiecki

Antissemitismo

"Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations" - Trailer (2020)

Vida

Signs of regrowth are seen in the blue gum forest west of Parndana, Australia