ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary

We are carrying around with us all the horrors of the past.

we remember that we are only alive because others have died.

any object invested with religious sanctity can, over time, become a substitute for the real thing.

This system of ten divine forces, however, was seen by some rationalist Jewish philosophers as highly problematic, for it seemed to contradict the pure monotheism which had become the defining feature of Jewish theology. So defenders of the mystical tradition often took great pains to clarify that these ten were really just different aspects of The

every fifty years, we are reminded that no one stays a slave forever. Freedom comes to everyone, whether they want it or not.

To reach this moment, each side had to make a concession. Each one defies the standards of their own traditions.

the very thing that once was meant to remind people of God could, over time, cause them to forget about God.

But I think Rashi’s logic in this description of the staff doing the swallowing suggests a different answer to the Omnipotence Paradox. Could God create a boulder so heavy God could not pick it up? God could… and then God could pick it up.

The purpose of Creation and the purpose of divine service is for the Jew to immerse in all the physical things, and then to elevate them all in the name of God, for then he joins the lower with the upper. The path of separating from the things of this world is an easier path. But the higher level is to raise all the things of this world to God, May