Turning Wisdom into Oral Torah
Our Written Torah is fixed and final. Its sequence of letters, spacings, stories and commands is sacred and static. A scribal error of even a single letter invalidates the entire scroll. Its authority derives from its constancy. Our Oral Torah is the opposite—it is always changing and expanding. Not a second passes that does not leave it enriched by some new insight discovered in that moment somewhere on the planet. The Oral Torah lives and evolves.
Purim 2021: Who is Charvonah…
Charvonah is a seemingly insignificant character in the Purim story. He is one of the king’s attendants who appears at the beginning with those who convey the kings fateful summons to Vashti and then again at Haman’s demise. It is here, in this second mention, that he delivers his single line:
Turning Noga into Chashmal
Chashmal thus becomes the codeword for embracing paradox by skirting back and forth between opposing perspectives and admitting the truth that’s present in each.
Keter – Malchut
The feminine’s teshuva journey is thus the polar opposite of her male counterpart. Whereas the masculine strives for ego-transcendence, the feminine cultivates holy selfhood.
From Eden to Purim: Simcha shel Mitzvah
Purim 2018 / 5778 To succeed in our mission we must become connoisseurs of pleasure. That was our failing, and it remains our front of tikun.
All the Creatures Pray for a Fruitful Harvest
Tu B’Shvat 2018. All the trees of the field did not yet exist on the earth, and all the wild plants had not yet sprouted… for there was no human to work the ground.
When the Body Gives Light to the Soul
Purim, 5777 / 2017 R. Tsadok HaKohen broadens the definition of Oral Torah and it’s not at all surprising that Esther was our trailblazer.
The Two Trees at Eden’s Center
Tu B’Shvat 2017. On New Year’s Day of Fruit Trees we celebrate the two trees that changed the course of history: The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.
The Menorah: Secret of Ruach HaKodesh
Chanukka 2016 / 5777 The menorah symbolizes the Oral Torah—the light that we shine back to HaShem.