Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Yitro 5769/2009: "Exodus and Relational Authority"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Yitro
It is striking to note the number of times God, during the first few Torah portions of Exodus, concludes and justifies a command with the words "Ani Adonai / I am God." Having God acknowledged by Egypt (see Ex. 7:5, 14:4,18) and by the Israelites (see Ex. 6:7, 10:2) seems exceedingly important,...
VaYigash 5769: "The Possible Blessing of Encounter"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Vayigash
I've been spending some time with Martin Buber recently, preparing for a public conversation with my friend Josh Kornbluth, as part of his monologue at the Contemporary Jewish Museum entitled "Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?" Buber is one of 10 Jewish portraits in museum's exhibit, and is himself...
Jewish Elasticity and Values
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Life Reflections
Elasticity describes a ratio of change, a useful tool whose work is independent of units. To measure a ratio of change is to come to terms with the specific language and factors in any given situation before stating an observation. It is a brave thing to step into this world of elasticity, where...
Women on a Beit Din
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Life Reflections
In the fifth year of rabbinical school, Rabbi Joel Roth had typically requested that soon-to-be ordained female rabbis not sit on Batei Din. (During my fifth year Rabbi Roth was teaching at the Conservative Yeshiva, and so Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz was the instructor.) I felt then, and feel even...
A Prayer for Thanksgiving 2008: "Reaching for Gratitude"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Life Reflections
Dear God: On a day in which the needs of the world have suddenly gained urgency yet again, in which the internal sense of stability in our country is increasingly fragile, we turn to You. Today is a day for invoking gratitude. But today, when we sit at the table with cherished friends and...
VaYeira 5769/2008: “Which Fire?”
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Vayera
© Rabbi Menachem Creditor When we tell the story of the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac, how do we tell it? Do we dare question the God who commands the unthinkable? Do we allow the text which portrays God this way to push us completely away from faith, rejecting the troubling image? Do we...
Noach 5769/2008: "Are We What We Need?"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Noach
The Noach epic births ever-more pressing questions as story-teller and reader grow in life experience. Beyond "why did God destroy the earth?" and "what about the animals who weren't in the ark?" and "why doesn't Noach's wife have a name?" and countless other reactions to the narrative, beyond...
Yom Kippur 5769: "Eyes on the Prize"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Yamim Noraim / High Holidays
© Rabbi Menachem Creditor Last night I had a dream about a home that was so bright. I don't know why it had to be a dream. Why can't I? Where will I? God help me. Help me find a home. Keep your eyes on the prize. Don't be dismayed, don't be dismayed. Deep in your heart you must believe...
Tisha Be'av 5768: "Fire Scars"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Tisha b'Av
I stood today in a burnt Holy of Holies, staring at the scorched walls reaching toward the sky. I was moved to tears at the ancient loss, standing in island of black. It was a sacred experience beyond time and it will remain with me. The holy "fire scar" I witnessed was not in Jerusalem, but...
Pinchas 5768: "The Blessings of Brokenness"
Posted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor | Tags: Pinchas
Rabbi Menachem Creditor The great Israeli poet Chaim Nachman Bialik once said that reading a translation is like kissing through a veil. The beginning of Parashat Pinchas illustrates this quite clearly. And not only does the biblical Hebrew lose its power refracted into the vernacular, but even...
