Yitro

Developed by Rain Zohav
[Zohav is a rabbinical student in the ALEPH smikha program. This plan for Shavuot was developed for the course in Eco-Judaism taught hy Rabbi Arthur Waskow in 2009.]

Idea: Use the attached document, “Ten Commandments From the Earth” as a starting point for discussing what people can do to protect and defend the environment.   Read more »

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

In the biblical traditions of the people Israel, there seem to be two strands of thought regarding shabbat—rest from work—in the sense not only of the seventh, day, but also of social repose and renewal in the seventh month and the seventh year. One of these strands sees shabbat as a reflection and expression of cosmic rhythms of time embedded in creation. The other sees shabbat as an affirmation of human freedom, justice, and equality. The biblical tradition regards these strands not as contradictory but as intertwined; indeed, the second is probably a midrash on the first, which arose in a period of Israelite history when social conflict between the rich and poor was intense and the desire to see shabbat as an affirmation of social justice was strong.   Read more »

Rabbi Arthur Waskow *

Seven weeks of walking from the Narrows into the open space that is the Land of No One – and then we enter the heart of the heart of the wilderness — Sinai itself, and the Torah.

“Wilderness” is “midbar.” It could be understood as “midaber,” — “wording, speaking,” — or “m’devar/ m’dibbur,” “away from word, without a word, beyond words.”

Or both:

A speaking beyond words.

Several years ago, Phyllis (Rabbi Phyllis Berman, my life-partner) and I spent a few days in “Midbar sinai,” and with hundreds of pilgrims from many religions and from all around the world spent all night climbing the mountain that either is or isn’t the mountain where we all assembled to get the Teaching that was beyond words.   Read more »

Rabbi Arthur Waskow & Rabbi Phyllis Berman

If We Stood at Sinai Together / Yitro

By Arthur Waskow & Phyllis Berman*

Each year, in the regular rhythm of Torah reading and again on Shavuot, the entire community stands to hear the "Ten Words" that spoke in the thunder of Sinai, just as we stood together then, to hear as a community.   Read more »