Words / yom ha’atzma’ut
Like so many other commentators — ancient to modern — Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks elaborates on the construct of tzara’at, an unidentified skin ailment, as recompense for evil speech, lashon hara. Long-ago rabbinic wordplay connected tzara’at to words, speech, that can be hurtful. Aside from a clever acronymic derivation, why would the sages have focused on speech?
Makin’ Matza!
My recent posts...
Selling Chametz
Even if you don’t keep a kosher kitchen, and/or you don’t “convert” your kitchen for Pesach, there is still spiritual value in selling your chametz: You are engaging with myriad Jews worldwide in a practice that can be traced back to Torah and, if you include a donations to “ma’ot chitin,” you are enabling those in need to more fully celebrate Pesach.
A Few Things About Pesach (With lots of links)
There is a wealth of information about Pesach (and the challenges of this year) at Exploring Judaism.org.
Leaving/Returning
Nearly nothing in our world now feels still, calm. People are yelling at one another (much easier than seeking solutions and making compromises) to the point that most seem to have stopped listening.
We are going to listen, to see, to join hearts with our people — family, friends and strangers. We will hug relatives; someone asked me to pass a hug on to a random person. Hmmm … a surprise “This is from Ben!” might not be well received. Then again….
I will be meeting the tour organizer with whom I worked on our canceled synagogue trip, aiming to reschedule for 2025, not so far away any more, really.
We look forward to our time in our homeland, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. We encourage you to book a trip or plan to come with us next year.
The attached video is an adaptation of my benediction at our community Yom Hashoah program last week. It is adapted for the transition from yom hazikaron to yom ha’atzmaut, from Israel’s Memorial Day to Independence Day.