A Noble Freedom
Apr 22, 2016 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Pesah
Many Virginians of middle and upper ranks aspired to behave like gentlemen. In the early seventeenth century an English gentleman was defined as one who could 鈥渓ive idly and without manual labor.鈥� The words 鈥済entleman鈥� and 鈥渋ndependent鈥� were used synonymously, and 鈥渋ndependence鈥� in this context meant freedom from the necessity of labor.
Read More鈥擠avid Hackett Fischer, Albion鈥檚 Seed: Four British Folkways in America, 366
Beyond the Exodus from Egypt
Apr 15, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Pesah
Most of us, at one time or another, have asked the question about the Passover seder that the Haggadah attributes to the 鈥渨icked son鈥�: What is the point of all this? At such moments of skepticism, we probably understand why an annual family gathering is worthwhile, we perhaps remember fondly the seders of our youth, and we may even confess to being moved by the rituals reenacted at the seder table year after year: reciting the four questions, dripping wine from cup to plate at the recital of the ten plagues, singing Had Gadya. But really, we ask: Why is the event of Israelite slaves leaving Egypt over 3,000 years ago (if it ever happened in the first place) so important that an entire holiday is devoted to it (not to mention countless daily prayers)?
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Confronting Our Own Shortcomings
Aug 9, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Tishah Be'av
It may sound strange that I look forward every summer to observing Tish鈥檃h Be鈥橝v. The saddest day on the Hebrew calendar is also the one I have found most consistently meaningful since my teenage years.
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Purim: The Triumph of Understanding Over Hatred
Feb 12, 2013 By 糖心出品 | Podcast or Radio Program | Purim
Taken from the archives of “The Eternal Light” radio program, this 1954 commentary on Purim is delivered by Murray Bellow, a noted civic leader of the time.
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