Rabbi Menachem Creditor
As One
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags:
Have you ever seen a "flash mob?" (Youtube is full of them.) It is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform a coordinated action, and then disperse. For a brief, fleeting moment, they are one body in motion. I sat tonight in a packed room with others assembled...
A Prayer for Health
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags:
God, may my work feel redemptive even when an ocean of need feels like it will pull me down. May I feel supported when I feel alone in my work. O God, remind me when I fail that I can learn, and that my life is more than my work. O God, remind me when I succeed that I can learn, and that deep...
Time
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags:
Something about time passing makes me sad to be young, conscious of my time passing. Voice changes over time, deepening in tone and wisdom, gaining sadness learned over time. The world doesn't slow down; in fact it just moves faster and faster, and I'm trying to feel as much of it as I...
Dispatch from a Normal State
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Life Reflections
Sitting here in Jerusalem, just waiting for the pre-Shabbat siren, I realize something has changed. I've been here many times, shared this holy place with my wife, my children, my parents, and now my extended family, some of whom have made Aliyah. But something is different this time. The...
Chukat 5769/2009: "Seeing Beyond the Apparent"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Chukat
Five years ago I contracted Bell's Palsy, a form of facial paralysis resulting from damage to the 7th facial nerve, afflicting 40,000 Americans each year. Even when I learned that Bell's Palsy typically goes away within a few weeks, I was deeply frightened. The worst part of experiencing Bell's...
Korach 5769/2009: "Korach's Children"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Korach
Celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of Sheila and Art Braufman Celebrating the the marriage of Eliyahu Sills and Rachel Valfer The story of Korach might not seem obvious for discussing relationships. After all, Korach and his followers, after contesting the rights of Moses and Aaron to...
Naso 5769/2009: “Personal Status and Jewish Leadership”
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Naso
Dedicated to Jon Galinson ***************************** Given the enormous length of Parashat Naso, there are so many possible directions for exploration that it’s hard to choose just one! Naso is the longest Torah Portion, with 176 verses. (Interesting to note that the longest chapter in the...
The Power of a Jewish Voice
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Life Reflections
Nicholas Patruno has written that: "[During the Sho'ah, the Nazis' attempts at] the suppression of language served as a cruel reminder that there would be no voice left to tell. ...But in Auschwitz, Primo Levi soon concluded that his survival, in physical and moral terms, depended largely on his...
Intense and Holy
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Kedoshim
It is precisely in the intense moments of disagreement that love is tested. Parashat Acharei Mot begins amidst the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, who brought uninvited incense-offerings upon the dedication of the Tabernacle and were themselves devoured by a "fire from God"...
A Pesach Poem: "Thank You, God, for Chametz"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Pesach
When I slither on my belly with my children, looking for the Chametz I myself hid, I am aware that deep ritual involves both gravitas and silliness. When I stand with my family, watching the Chametz burn, I am transported. I smell, I feel, my sacrifice burning. When I recite the Aramaic...
