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Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning, commemorating the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, among other events.

In the story of Purim, God is glimpsed only through the acts of human beings in solidarity with one another. While the name of God is never invoked directly in the Megillah, when Esther sends word to Mordecai that she is afraid to go to her husband the king without being summoned (an act that could get her executed), Mordecai replies, “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace.

An old Yiddish expression speaks of a topsy-turvy person as one who is “drunk the whole year and sober on Purim.” I want to suggest, in a similar vein, that in times as befuddled as ours we might need to look through the lens of Purim to achieve some measure of sobriety.

I sometimes fantasize about what an updated version of The Ten Commandments would look like. The following four Torah portions in the month of Shevat, which began the evening of January 6, provide parallels for the remade movie.

How bitter to read about prominent American Jews like Peter Beinart being detained at Ben Gurion Airport for voicing views contrary to Israeli government policy. These and other bitter policies and practices offend our morals and move Israel further from peace and from us. More and more, our rabbis are summoning the courage to condemn these outrages — formerly discussed and informally debated at onegs and in Jewish homes — from their pulpits. Rabbis Franken, Zemel and others care deeply about Israel and so they speak up, despite the factions that wish everyone would look the other way, while Israel, like brother Esau, sells its birthright.

The Two-Way Street, a monthly d’var Torah, brings Jewish tradition, insight and values to bear on the important work being done by J Street.

The Two-Way Street, a monthly d’var Torah, brings Jewish tradition, insight and values to bear on the important work being done by J Street.