Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

 

 

 

 "The Ten Levels of Sanctity and the Challenges of the Orthodox Rabbinate" (1956)

Vida

 

 

A northern cardinal, Catskill mountains

 

Kol Nidrei

 

 

Cantor Manfred Lewandowski

 

Jeremias

 

 

Jeremiah, Michelangelo

Akiva

 

 

Rabbi Akiva? (16th-century illustration)

Exílio

 

 

"What happens in our souls", Rabbi David Wolpe

 

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau

 

 

 "Resilience: The Story of Rabbi Israel Meir Lau"

 

 

נָסֹ֤גוּ אָחוֹר֙ יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ בֹ֔שֶׁת הַבֹּטְחִ֖ים בַּפָּ֑סֶל הָאֹמְרִ֥ים לְמַסֵּכָ֖ה אַתֶּ֥ם אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ

Driven back and utterly shamed
Shall be those who trust in an image,
Those who say to idols,
‘You are our gods!’”

Isaiah 42:17

Vida

 

 

 

A murmuration of starlings over the ancient Forum in Rome, Italy

 

Dura Europos

 

 

 

Fresco of a man, Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria (founded c. 244 CE)

 

Hurva

 

 

The Hurva Synagogue in ruins (1967)

 

Livorno

 

 

 

Interior of the old Synagogue of Livorno, "Tempio Maggiore" (19th century)

Melila Hellner-Eshed

 

 

"Jewish Life is Waking Up" 

 

Sennacherib

 

 

 

Prism of Sennacherib, containing records of his military campaigns

 

Zalmen Gradowski

 

 

(c. 1935)

 

Vida

 

 

Two male golden pheasants, China

 

Espinosa

 

 

 

"Why Wasn't Spinoza Excommunicated?", Yitzhak Melamed

 

Avivah Zornberg

 

 

"Jewish Life is Waking Up"

 

Havdalah

 

 

 

 "The Conclusion of the Sabbath", Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (1866)

 

Pragas

 

 

"The Finite Gift of Life Itself", Zohar Atkins

 

 

וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ מִשָּׁ֖ם יִצְחָ֑ק וַיִּ֥חַן בְּנַֽחַל־גְּרָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב שָֽׁם 

So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the wadi of Gerar, where he settled.

וַיָּ֨שׇׁב יִצְחָ֜ק וַיַּחְפֹּ֣ר ׀ אֶת־בְּאֵרֹ֣ת הַמַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָֽפְרוּ֙ בִּימֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יו וַיְסַתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אַחֲרֵ֖י מ֣וֹת אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶן֙ שֵׁמ֔וֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹ֕ת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ן אָבִֽיו 

Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them.

וַיַּחְפְּר֥וּ עַבְדֵֽי־יִצְחָ֖ק בַּנָּ֑חַל וַיִּ֨מְצְאוּ־שָׁ֔ם בְּאֵ֖ר מַ֥יִם חַיִּֽים 

But when Isaac’s servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water,

וַיָּרִ֜יבוּ רֹעֵ֣י גְרָ֗ר עִם־רֹעֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק לֵאמֹ֖ר לָ֣נוּ הַמָּ֑יִם וַיִּקְרָ֤א שֵֽׁם־הַבְּאֵר֙ עֵ֔שֶׂק כִּ֥י הִֽתְעַשְּׂק֖וּ עִמּֽוֹ

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He named that well Esek, because they contended with him.

וַֽיַּחְפְּרוּ֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וַיָּרִ֖יבוּ גַּם־עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמָ֖הּ שִׂטְנָֽה 

And when they dug another well, they disputed over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק מִשָּׁ֗ם וַיַּחְפֹּר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וְלֹ֥א רָב֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהֹוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ 

He moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, “Now at last the LORD has granted us ample space^cHeb. hirḥib, connected with “Rehoboth.” to increase in the land.”

וַיַּ֥עַל מִשָּׁ֖ם בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע  

From there he went up to Beer-sheba.

וַיֵּרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהֹוָה֙ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֕י אֱלֹהֵ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֣ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֙יךָ֙ וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֣י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֔ בַּעֲב֖וּר אַבְרָהָ֥ם עַבְדִּֽי 

That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your offspring for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

וַיִּ֧בֶן שָׁ֣ם מִזְבֵּ֗חַ וַיִּקְרָא֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיֶּט־שָׁ֖ם אׇהֳל֑וֹ וַיִּכְרוּ־שָׁ֥ם עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָ֖ק בְּאֵֽר 

So he built an altar there and invoked the LORD by name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a well.

וַאֲבִימֶ֕לֶךְ הָלַ֥ךְ אֵלָ֖יו מִגְּרָ֑ר וַאֲחֻזַּת֙ מֵֽרֵעֵ֔הוּ וּפִיכֹ֖ל שַׂר־צְבָאֽוֹ 

And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his councilor and Phicol chief of his troops.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ יִצְחָ֔ק מַדּ֖וּעַ בָּאתֶ֣ם אֵלָ֑י וְאַתֶּם֙ שְׂנֵאתֶ֣ם אֹתִ֔י וַתְּשַׁלְּח֖וּנִי מֵאִתְּכֶֽם 

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you have been hostile to me and have driven me away from you?”

וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ רָא֣וֹ רָאִ֘ינוּ֮ כִּֽי־הָיָ֣ה יְהֹוָ֣ה ׀ עִמָּךְ֒ וַנֹּ֗אמֶר תְּהִ֨י נָ֥א אָלָ֛ה בֵּינוֹתֵ֖ינוּ בֵּינֵ֣ינוּ וּבֵינֶ֑ךָ וְנִכְרְתָ֥ה בְרִ֖ית עִמָּֽךְ 

And they said, “We now see plainly that the LORD has been with you, and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you

אִם־תַּעֲשֵׂ֨ה עִמָּ֜נוּ רָעָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א נְגַֽעֲנ֔וּךָ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשִׂ֤ינוּ עִמְּךָ֙ רַק־ט֔וֹב וַנְּשַׁלֵּֽחֲךָ֖ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם אַתָּ֥ה עַתָּ֖ה בְּר֥וּךְ יְהֹוָֽה 

that you will not do us harm, just as we have not molested you but have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace. From now on, be you blessed of the LORD!”

וַיַּ֤עַשׂ לָהֶם֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ 

Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank.

וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ אִ֣ישׁ לְאָחִ֑יו וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֣ם יִצְחָ֔ק וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ מֵאִתּ֖וֹ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם 

Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace.

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ עַבְדֵ֣י יִצְחָ֔ק וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ ל֔וֹ עַל־אֹד֥וֹת הַבְּאֵ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפָ֑רוּ וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ ל֖וֹ מָצָ֥אנוּ מָֽיִם 

That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!”

וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֹתָ֖הּ שִׁבְעָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֤ן שֵׁם־הָעִיר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר שֶׁ֔בַע עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה         

He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. 

Bereshit 26:17-33

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

 

 

 

"A Worldwide Tribute to A Giant, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz", Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

 

Vida

 

 

A little egret is seen in Jahra Governorate, Kuwait

 

Stephen Sondheim ז״ל

 

 

 

Samy El Maghribi

 

 

"Hawzi Khatri bel Djfa tâaddeb Ettaleb"

 

Laquis

 

 

 

On the Lachish reliefs in the British Museum, Israelite prisoners are shown being sent into exile by the Assyrians under Sennacherib

This relief formerly adorned a wall in Sennacherib’s palace in ancient Nineveh

 

Jerusalém

 

 

 

"Jerusalem Delivered from Sennacherib", Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld (1860)

 

David Wolpe

 

 

"Rise"

 

Vida

 

 

 

The silhouette of a deer is seen during rutting season in Richmond Park, London, UK

 

Jezebel

 

 

"The Death of Jezebel", Gustave Doré (1866)

Mar da Galileia

 

 

Sea of Galilee

 

Delphine Horvilleur

 

 

"Égalité"

Jacob

 

 

"Jacob’s Dream", Ferdinand Bol (c. 1642)

 

Dara Horn

 

 

"People Love Dead Jews" 

 

Gershon Mendes Seixas

 

 

(c. 1784)

 

Vida

 

 

 

Asiatic lions in the night safari exhibition at the Singapore zoo

 

Aaron Beck ז״ל

 

Herschel Grynszpan

 

 

 

Herschel Grynszpan after being arrested in Paris (Nov. 7, 1938)

 

Kristallnacht

 

 

 

After the Kristallnacht pogrom in Linz, Austria, Jewish women are made to wear signs 

saying, 'I am not part of the national community,' while being humiliated on stage in public (1938)

 

Delphine Horvilleur

 

 

"Liberté"

 

Guy Yanai

 

 

"Lisbon Plant" (2019)

 

Moshe Halbertal

 

 

"Law and Love in Judaism" 

 

Absalão

 

 

"Death of Absalom", Corrado Giaquinto (1762)

 

Vida

 

 

A rare ringed seal found injured in Aberdeen, Scotland 

Morte

 

 

 

"Transcending Death", Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1950's)

Perek Shirah

 

 

David Wolpe

 

 

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל הַגִּ֤ישׁוּ אֵלַי֙ אֶת־אֲגַג֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמָלֵ֔ק וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אֵלָ֔יו אֲגַ֖ג מַעֲדַנֹּ֑ת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲגָ֔ג אָכֵ֖ן סָ֥ר מַר־הַמָּֽוֶת          

Then said Samuel: ‘Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.’ And Agag came unto him in chains. And Agag said: ‘Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.’

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר שִׁכְּלָ֤ה נָשִׁים֙ חַרְבֶּ֔ךָ כֵּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ל מִנָּשִׁ֖ים אִמֶּ֑ךָ וַיְשַׁסֵּ֨ף שְׁמוּאֵ֧ל אֶת־אֲגָ֛ג לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה בַּגִּלְגָּֽל          

And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, So shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 

I Samuel 15:32-33

Mar Morto

 

 

Dead Sea

 

Leo Strauss

 

 

 

"Leo Strauss on Nietzsche": A Conference at the University of Chicago (2019)

 

Eilat Mazar

 

 

Vida

 

 

 

A peacock opens its plumage at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand

 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l

 

 

 

A Message from President Isaac Herzog to mark the First Yahrzeit of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l

 

“Mr. Shushani”

 

 

A page from the notebooks of "Mr. Shushani" 

 

“Mr. Shushani,” or “Monsieur Chouchani,” was a wanderer and scholar 

who counted Elie Wiesel and the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas among his students

 

Jónatas

 

 

"David and Jonathan", Rembrandt (c.1642)

 

 

עָקֹ֥ב הַלֵּ֛ב מִכֹּ֖ל וְאָנֻ֣שׁ ה֑וּא מִ֖י יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ

Most devious is the heart;
It is perverse—who can fathom it? 

Jeremiah 17:9

 

Sansão

 

 

"Samson Kills a Young Lion", Marc Chagall (1956)

 

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

 

 

(1940)

 

Vida

 

 

A kea at Fox Glacier township, South Island, New Zealand 

 

Ana

 

 

 

"Hannah and Samuel in the Temple", Rembrandt or his studio (c.1650)

 

Jerusalém

 

 

 

The Tower of David depicted in the Florence Scroll (14th-century)

 

Squirrel Hill

 

 

 

"Squirrel Hill, The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood"

Jan Grabowski

 

 

"Distorting and Denying the Holocaust: New Threats Ahead" 

 

Olho por olho

 

 

 

Interpreting "An Eye for an Eye", Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1957)

 

הָל֤וֹךְ הָֽלְכוּ֙ הָעֵצִ֔ים לִמְשֹׁ֥חַ עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֶ֑לֶךְ וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ לַזַּ֖יִת (מלוכה) [מׇלְכָ֥ה] עָלֵֽינוּ  

The trees went out to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ הַזַּ֔יִת הֶחֳדַ֙לְתִּי֙ אֶת־דִּשְׁנִ֔י אֲשֶׁר־בִּ֛י יְכַבְּד֥וּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַאֲנָשִׁ֑ים וְהָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָנ֖וּעַ עַל־הָעֵצִֽים  

But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honour God and man, and go to hold sway over the trees?

וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ הָעֵצִ֖ים לַתְּאֵנָ֑ה לְכִי־אַ֖תְּ מׇלְכִ֥י עָלֵֽינוּ  

And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ הַתְּאֵנָ֔ה הֶחֳדַ֙לְתִּי֙ אֶת־מׇתְקִ֔י וְאֶת־תְּנוּבָתִ֖י הַטּוֹבָ֑ה וְהָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָנ֖וּעַ עַל־הָֽעֵצִֽים  

But the fig tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to hold sway over the trees?

וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ הָעֵצִ֖ים לַגָּ֑פֶן לְכִי־אַ֖תְּ (מלוכי) [מָלְכִ֥י] עָלֵֽינוּ  

Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ הַגֶּ֔פֶן הֶחֳדַ֙לְתִּי֙ אֶת־תִּ֣ירוֹשִׁ֔י הַֽמְשַׂמֵּ֥חַ אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַאֲנָשִׁ֑ים וְהָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָנ֖וּעַ עַל־הָעֵצִֽים  

And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to hold sway over the trees?

וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ כׇל־הָעֵצִ֖ים אֶל־הָאָטָ֑ד לֵ֥ךְ אַתָּ֖ה מְלׇךְ־עָלֵֽינוּ  

Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הָאָטָד֮ אֶל־הָעֵצִים֒ אִ֡ם בֶּאֱמֶ֣ת אַתֶּם֩ מֹשְׁחִ֨ים אֹתִ֤י לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם בֹּ֖אוּ חֲס֣וּ בְצִלִּ֑י וְאִם־אַ֕יִן תֵּ֤צֵא אֵשׁ֙ מִן־הָ֣אָטָ֔ד וְתֹאכַ֖ל אֶת־אַרְזֵ֥י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן  

And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, fire will issue from the bramble, and devour the cedars of Levanon.  

Judges 9:8-15

 

Vida

 

 

Niala

 

J. Robert Oppenheimer

 

 

Interview by Edward R. Murrow

Morte

 

 

 

 "Is There Life After Death", Rabbi David Wolpe - Yom Kippur Day Sermon

 

Man Ray

 

 

"Man Ray in Paris" (1934)

 

Rembrandt

 

 

"Jacob's Ladder" (1655)

 

Chaim Grade

 

 

 

"My Quarrel with Hersh Rasseyner" by Chaim Grade: Prof. Ruth Wisse and Dr. Asael Abelman

 

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

 

 

 

"Secular Zionism, Western Liberalism and the State of Israel" (1970)

 

Vida

 

 

 

A drone photo shows a flock of sheep on their way back to the warmer places in the Catak district of Turkey’s southeastern province Van.

Flocks of sheep are brought down from highlands to stockyards before winter season.

 

Babi Yar

 

 

 

A German Einsatzgruppen soldier talks to two unidentified women at the top of the Babi Yar ravine

 

The 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre is marked this week. 

The event, in which Nazis and Ukrainian collaborators murdered 33,771 Jews, took place on Sept. 29-30, 1941, on the eve of Yom Kippur. 

As if that atrocity was not bad enough, for many years Nazis and then Soviets added insult to injury by actively trying to destroy any evidence that could attest to these horrors.

Jackie Mason

 

 

"L'Chayim" (2013)

Simchat Torah

 

 

Reuven Rubin, "Simchat Torah" (1966)

 

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

"Ozymandias", P. B. Shelley

 

Kotel

 

"At the Wailing Wall, June 7, 1967: Soldiers Reciting Kaddish; 

Rabbi Shlomo Goren Saying a Prayer for the Fallen; The Sound of the Shofar. Narrated by Teddy Kollek" 

 

Israel

 

 

 

"A Blind Child discovering Israel with his Fingers", David Rubinger (1960)

Vida

 

 

 

A sperm whale amid sargassum weed off Roseau, Dominica 

 

Leonard Cohen

 

 

"Lover, Lover, Lover"

 

"I asked my father,
I said, "Father change my name."
The one I'm using now it's covered up
with fear and filth and cowardice and shame.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

He said, "I locked you in this body,
I meant it as a kind of trial.
You can use it for a weapon,
or to make some woman smile."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"Then let me start again," I cried,
"please let me start again,
I want a face that's fair this time,
I want a spirit that is calm."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"I never never turned aside," he said,
"I never walked away.
It was you who built the temple,
it was you who covered up my face."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

And may the spirit of this song,
may it rise up pure and free.
May it be a shield for you,
a shield against the enemy.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me."

Pidion Haben

 

 

 

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women adorn 30-day-old Yossef Tabersky, the great grandchild of the chief rabbi of the Lelov Hassidic dynasty, 

during the "Pidyon Haben" ceremony in Beit Shemesh, Israel (September 16, 2021)

Sukkot

 

 

 

 Rabbi Sacks zt"l on the meaning of Sukkot and the Sukkah

 

Amsterdão

 

 

 

Holland's King Willem-Alexander, right, officially unveiling a new monument in the heart of Amsterdam's

 historic Jewish Quarter honoring the 102,000 Dutch victims of the Holocaust (September 19, 2021)