Text Study – The Embodied Torah of Study

Reflections on the Psalms

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An interview with Samuel Zinner about my book. The book is available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFCYR1NP. If you are in Grand Rapids, I have a few copies that I can sell for about 20% off. It makes a great Hanukkah (or Christmas) present!

Samuel Zinner, Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2002. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Zinner concentrated in modern and ancient languages and literatures, history, and Museum Studies. He contributed to German Scholars and Ethnic Cleansing 1920- 1945 (Berghahn Books 2004), which was awarded the American Library Association’s prestigious “Choice Outstanding Academic Book of the Year Award” for 2005. He has contributed articles to Religions/Adyan (Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue), and other academic journals. He has served as a peer-review referee for the journals Old Testament Essays, Paedagogia Christiana, etc. His work has been published internationally in a variety of languages by Oxford University Press, De Gruyter, etc. Zinner’s work has been praised by Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Philip R. Davies, Hebraist John F. A. Sawyer (Durham University), Targums scholar Robert Gordon (University of Cambridge), and others. Zinner is currently an editor of the forthcoming volume Origins and Applications of Language and Number (Rowman and Littlefield), which includes contributions by Noam Chomsky, Gregory Chaitin, and other eminent scholars. Zinner’s recent conference participations include presentations for the Oregon Jewish Cultural Project “Bob Dylan: Jewish Perspectives on his Repertoire” and “The Bible and the Qur’an: Comparative Studies” at the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran.

Reflections on the Psalms

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With gratitude to the Holy One of Blessing, I am excited to announcing the publication of Rabbi Krishef’s Reflections on the Psalms!

Discover how the Psalms can inspire you to engage significant contemporary issues. This is not a commentary on the meaning and message of the Psalms; rather, this book considers the Psalms as a collection of phrases and images that invite us into brief meditations using Jewish wisdom for spiritual development.

Reflections on the Psalms, published by Luminescence LLC, is available on Amazon.

You can find endorsements of the book from Rabbi David Wolpe, Rabbi Brad Artson, Rabbi Elana Zaiman, Rabbi Pamela Gottfried, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, and the Rev. Fred Wooden, here.

Divre Harav – November/2021

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Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

Thousands of years after Abraham and Sarah set off on their Biblical journey, we, their descendants, are the inheritors of a Judaism which contains the four elements of Peoplehood, Practice, Faith, and Ethics. I want to invite you to spend time this year digging into this Judaism that we have inherited and chosen. I want to unpack the meaning of our rituals and practices, our sense of peoplehood, our faith, and our ethics.

Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism is a curriculum designed by the Shalom Hartman Institute, a highly regarded institute of Jewish thought and education serving Israel and North America. The curriculum is pluralistic and rigorous and thoughtful. The goal is to engage you and provoke you to think seriously about the big questions at the heart of Jewish tradition. Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism presents our customs in a way which will invite you to make considered choices for yourself.

Each lesson will be self-contained, so you can come in at any time and there is no commitment to participate in the entire series of classes. Dip your toe in and try it out. You can pick and choose from the topics that intrigue you. It’s a new year, a time to focus on new projects, invest in renewing yourself. Abraham and Sarah changed themselves and changed the world. I guarantee that when you immerse yourself in the richness of Jewish Peoplehood, Jewish Practice, Jewish Faith, and Jewish Ethics, you will change yourself and the way you think. You will live a richer life. And maybe you, too, will change the world, or at least your small piece of it.

Class dates and times

  • Sundays, 9:10 – 10:00 a.m. at Temple Emanuel (go down the school hallway to the second room from the end on the left side)
  • Thursday afternoons, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. at Ahavas Israel (meeting room)
  • Thursday evenings, third Thursday of the month, 7:00 p.m. at Ahavas Israel (meeting room)

Class topics (subject to change)

There are Source packets for each of the topics. Please contact Rabbi Krishef if you would like to download the pdf file in advance.

Sundays, 9:10 – 10:00 a.m. at Temple Emanuel

November 7 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Pathways to Faith

November 14 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Faith, Trust, and Risk

November 21 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Faith and Knowledge 

December 5 BELIEF AND ACTION –Understanding Mitzvah

December 12 BELIEF AND ACTION – Sincerity and Ritual

Thursday afternoons, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. at Ahavas Israel

November 4 UNDERSTANDING JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD – Peoplehood in the Hierarchy of Values 

November 11 UNDERSTANDING JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD – Particularism and Universalism

November 18 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Pathways to Faith

December 2 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Faith, Trust, and Risk

December 9 UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Faith and Knowledge

December 16 BELIEF AND ACTION –Understanding Mitzvah

December 23 BELIEF AND ACTION – Sincerity and Ritual

December 30 BELIEF AND ACTION – Obligation and Autonomy

Thursday evenings, third Thursday of the month, 7:00 p.m. at Ahavas Israel

December 16 – UNDERSTANDING FAITH – Pathways to Faith

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Yahadut – Judaism
  • Mahshevet Yisrael – Jewish Studies
  • Emunah – Faith

Divre Harav – October/2019

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R. Hananiah, the Deputy High Priest, says, “Pray for the welfare of the government, for if it were not for fear of it, one person would swallow one’s fellow alive.” Pirke Avot 3:2

Most weeks, we join together reading a prayer for our country in our Shabbat service. We do this to show gratitude that we live in a free country in which the laws protect us and ensure our freedom of religion. But similar prayers has been included in synagogue worship since 14th century Spain, in the form of a prayer for the king, asking God to help him and strengthen him against his enemies. Rabbi Hananiah’s instruction is based on a verse from the 6th century BCE prophet Jeremiah, who instructed Judeans in Babylonia to “seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to Adonai on its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper” (29:7).

Such prayers recognize that for better or for worse, the Jewish community prospers when the government is secure and prosperous, or when the government is stable and adopts leading to economic growth and prosperity. Typically, though, they also recognize that all governments are imperfect, and conclude with a messianic hope for a world free of war in which all people live in friendship and freedom.

Rabbi Hananiah’s attitude towards government is guarded. First century Jews certainly didn’t love the Roman government who destroyed the Temple, but understood that a society without rules and the means to enforce them will devolve into chaos. In fact, among the seven basic laws of humankind (known as the Noahide laws) that Judaism believes are incumbent on all people, is a mitzvah to live in a community with established courts of justice.

With this in mind, I ask you to join us for services on Monday, October 21 at 9:30 a.m. for the holiday of Shemini Atzeret. Along with our regular Festival service and the Yizkor memorial service, following services we have invited members of the Grand Rapids Police Department to Kiddush, to thank them for their keeping an eye on our property and responding to our requests for special event coverage. Please join us to greet and thank them!

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Mishtara – police
  • Tzahal – an acronym for Tz’va Hagana L’Yisrael – Israeli Defense Force
  • Heil Ha’avir – air force
  • Heil Hayam – navy