Jack Kustanowitz
And So It Was, At The Stroke of Midnight
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Pesach, Bo
We read in the Hagaddah (and in Parshat Bo), that Makat Bechorot (the plague known as the Death of the Firstborn) happened "bachatzi halaila", or roughly translated, "at the stroke of midnight". Not "be'emtza halayla" (meaning in the middle of the night") or "balaila" (meaning "at night"), but...
A New Decade: Chazak Venitchazek
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Sefer Bereshit, Vayechi
Next week we will read parshat Vayechi and conclude the book of Bereshit, Genesis. We will also say goodbye to the calendar year 2009 and user in a new year, a new decade. What does the Torah tell us about transitions of this kind? There is no book quite like the book of Bereshit, which takes...
New Fruit
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Rosh Hashanah
There is an ancient and charming custom of having new fruit at the table on Rosh Hashanah. Classically, this is due to the legal uncertainty of the status of the second day of the holiday. If the two days of Rosh Hashanah are really just one long day, as the Talmud suggests, then one would not...
Temporary Housing
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Sukkot, Sukkot, Re'eh, Sukkot, Sukkot
As I prepare for the holiday of Sukkot, and I prepare to tell managers & coworkers why I'm taking yet another two days off in the middle of the week, and then another two days a week later, I have been trying to come up with a good explanation for the thing I've been building in my backyard. The...
7 Lbs, 6 Oz, and 50 Cubits
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Terumah, Tetzaveh, Vayakhel, Pekudei, Birth / Bris / Simchat Bat
Tonight, in honor of our Shalom Zachar for the son born to Penina & myself this past Wednesday morning, I wanted to find something in the parsha that would be interesting to talk about, and relevant to my newfound role as father of 2 sons. But then I realized it was Parshat Terumah. Parshat...
Got Oil?
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Vayeshev, Miketz, Vayigash, Chanukah
My son has a funny and slightly troubling habit of sneaking out of his room after getting tucked in -- funny because he's so insistent on trying, and slightly troubling because he's only 2 and a half. Last night I found him playing at the top of the stairs (having gotten through the child-proof...
Lift Right Left
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Rosh Hashanah, Bereshit, Ha'azinu, Vezot Habrachah, Shmini Atzeret / Simchat Torah
Ever have hagba (or know someone who had hagba) around this time of year? It's a good time to be a righty, as a full chumash worth of parchment is disproportionately wrapped around the right spindle of the sefer Torah. After this week, your left hand will need to only pick up Haazinu and Vezot...
Honing the Message
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Sefer Devarim, Devarim
Parshat Devarim starts the book of Deuteronomy, or "Second Words", which contains Moshe's final speech to the children of Israel as they prepare to enter the Land of Israel. It is frequently noted that material found in Devarim repeats, sometimes verbatim (or almost verbatim) material found...
A Need-To-Know Basis
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Re'eh
Parshat Re'eh starts out with a brief description of a strange ceremony we'll encounter later in Devarim: The blessings and the curses atop Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval, respectively. (The latter's English homophone, "Evil", is probably unrelated). But having whetted our apetite with a preview,...
How?
Posted by Jack Kustanowitz | Tags: Tisha b'Av
The book of Eichah, read on Tisha b'Av, starts with the word "Eichah", which repeats over and over. It is a cry of astonishment at reality -- that which we thought impossible came to pass. The Chosen People have been abandoned, the holy city deserted. We are all victims to the line of thinking...
