
A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales

As Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik has explained, the Torah is a covenant of being, not of doing.** The goal is the completion of being, the full realization of humanness. It is not a utilitarian contract designed for useful ends so that if the advantage is lost, the agreement is dropped. The covenant is a commitment on the part of each partner to be
... See moreIrving Greenberg • The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays
It is easy to misunderstand this dynamic by thinking of it in purely legalistic terms, as a divine-human barter of sorts, on the order of, “I, God, give you life, now you give me worship.” This makes God’s granting us life look less like a gift and more like a bloodless business transaction. But this is not Judaism’s approach (though there are text
... See moreShai Held • Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life
The Torah is an extended wrestling with the question of human association.
Jonathan Sacks • To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility
It is easy to misunderstand this dynamic by thinking of it in purely legalistic terms, as a divine-human barter of sorts, on the order of, “I, God, give you life, now you give me worship.” This makes God’s granting us life look less like a gift and more like a bloodless business transaction. But this is not Judaism’s approach (though there are text
... See more