Rabbi Avi Heller
Out of Touch
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Ki Tisah
When I was working at Hillel in the late 90's, my boss, Richard Joel (now the president of Yeshiva University) was struggling with a difficult problem. He had been so successful at revitalizing the image and experience of Jewish campus life at Hillels that his major donors - among them Michael...
The Crown of Torah
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Terumah
Reading this week's Torah portion, one is immediately struck by how different Judaism was three thousand years ago. (It wasn't even called Judaism back then.) The descriptions of the wandering Jews (Israelites, really, b'nei yisrael) in the desert describes a people whose religious life was focused...
The Shabbat Experience
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Mishpatim
The idea of Shabbat is one of the most important Jewish contributions to the world. The Talmud says (Yerushalmi, Berachot 1) that Shabbat is equivalent to (lit. measures up against) all the other commandments in the whole Torah[1]. The Torah begins (Genesis 1) with the seven days of creation leading...
Asking Good Questions
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Yitro
A Jewish high school senior once came to talk to me about dating non-Jewish girls. He knew I would be opposed, but he was hoping he could demolish me in argument. Then, he could tell his parents that the Rabbi didn't have any good answers and neither do you. Neither he nor his parents were...
Heart of Darkness
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Bo
Although the plagues inflicted by God against the cruel but hapless Egyptians inflicted great material damage (and great death in the massacre of the first-born), their primary impact was psychological and psycho-theological. Consider the final three plagues: Locusts Darkness First-Born What...
Getting Used To It
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Va'era
One of the quirks of the human personality (and an essential tool of our survival) is the ability to get used to almost anything. If a human being loses their legs, their sight, their hearing, they can adapt and compensate with their other abilities to a degree that would amaze those of us with all...
End of Days
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Vayechi
Our forefather Ya'akov gathers his sons together in the last days of his life, seeking to give them a final testament and ethical will. His life has been a hard one, full of turmoil and strife and he knows that his family is not only divided but also in great peril. They have descended to Egypt and...
Stuck!
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Vayigash
I occasionally have trouble starting and stopping. After each class that I give, I add my notes, handouts and research to a pile in my living room, which precipitously begins to grow. I look at it every time I walk by (afraid that it will one day devour the room) and think to myself that I need to...
God and the Big City
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Miketz
In our MJE Fellowship class this week, we had a discussion about whether it is easier to love the Jews to death or hate the Jews to death. Certainly, many have tried the direct route of obliterating our bodies, buildings and books. None have succeeded. In the eternal words of Rabbi Chanina ben...
The Legacy of Judah Maccabee
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Vayeshev, Chanukah
The holiday of Chanuka is dedicated to the importance of Jewish education. Many of its customs - including dreidels and presents -- are rooted in getting children excited about learning Torah. The history of Chanuka tells of the attempts of a Hellenizing king to wipe out Jewish learning and...
