by Raffi Levi
Posted on December 1, 2022
Is it possible that Truth is different in different settings? Or is Truth always only one thing? (Or, can both of these be true?) The Rabbis say “elu v’elu divrei Elokim chaim”—that these and those are the words of a living God.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 17, 2021
Jacob is sick and believes that he is about to die. Eager to ensure that he will be buried in the land of Canaan, he calls Joseph to his bedside and asks him for one final favor: “Do for me chesed ve-emet, kindness and truth.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 24, 2021
How do the women in the Torah navigate a patriarchal society? One very rare model is Sarah. At times, Sarah silently follows Avraham’s directions, even when he misrepresents her–twice!–as his sister. At other times, however, she is surprisingly very direct, particularly when it comes to Hagar and Yishmael: “Take my maidservant!”…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 2, 2011
Give truth to Yaakov, loving-kindness to Avraham…” (Micah 7:20), the prophet Micha asks of God, and thus, in kabbalistic literature, Avraham comes to represent the attribute of chesed, loving-kindness, while Yaakov represents the attribute of emet, truth. While it is not at all difficult to see how Avraham is associated with loving-kindness – witness his welcoming of the angelic guests – it is quite challenging to see Yaakov as embodying the principle of truth. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 22, 1998
The parsha of Matot-Masay concludes the story of the Moab-Midian attack against the Israelites. In the parsha of Balak we read that the Moabite women enticed the Israelite men to engage in illicit sex and to worship the pagan god Ba’al.…