Jewish Thought

Rabbi Gluskin argues that the tension between law and rebellion, between status quo and the desire to bring redemption now, is played out richly and artfully in the liturgy of the Passover Seder. Specific references to the text are explained in this light.

This is a reprint from a Fall, 2003 article published in The Reconstructionist. The article emphasizes the important connection between Judaism and justice and argues that making those connections for our communities will draw Jews to Judaism.

In a 2002 RT article, Rabbi Steve Segar notes, "The Hanukah story contains thematic elements that create cognitive dissonance or even undermine the cultural messages that our communities are attempting to cultivate through the observance of this holiday." Many American Jews might relate to the Helenizing forces more than the Maccabean tendency to root them out. Resonant within the story for many Reconstructionists and others is the struggle to live in multiple "civilizations" simultaneously with integrity.

Noticing that the Torah is pretty much finished with Abraham thirty-five years before he dies, this dvar-Torah goes on to discuss the kinds of blessings that a "second life" can bring us.