There in the sylvan, soaring shul, they leaf through their siddurim, waiting to get ten. “I’m here, let’s begin,” I say, craning my neck at them, rough and red-faced. They won’t count me in. One whispers to his ancient friends, “‘Is man a tree of the field?’ or should it be said ‘A tree of […]
The rain unfolds like sheets upon a corpse as, desperate, the drifting Noah tries to save the few while piloting his ship’s hull through the graveyard sea where all else lies. He weeps, cruel irony that all this flood became the instrument of utter death, for he has more than once in wonder stood as […]
Then God said, “What have you done? Hark! Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!” (Genesis 4:10) Abel’s blood was dashed all over the trees and stones. (Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 37a) The horror: brother’s blood on stones and trees, Though Cain’s one thought is clearing evidence. He turns away with timeless cruelty. […]
The Hours – Matthew J. Andrews Drawing inspiration from monastic patterns of liturgical prayer and the book of Psalms, The Hours is a deeply personal collection that meditates on the breadth of the human experience: the splendor of sunrise, the trepidation of evening, and the long periods of darkness and light that fall between them. […]
Archive — the Jewish Literary Journal the Jewish Literary Journal · full archive Search 12+ years of issues 626 pieces, Issues 1–158 (2013–2026). Search by title, author, or theme. All themes All years Tip for teachers: filter by theme (e.g. “Holocaust & Memory,” “Coming of Age,” “Family & Generations”) to quickly pull a shortlist of […]