Sh'ma Now

‘Because of This Beauty’

Elliot KuklaNovember 1, 2019

A story is told in the Talmud of Rabbi Elazar’s final days. As he lies dying, his friend and study partner Rabbi Yohanan comes to see him and finds him weeping. Rabbi Yohanan asks whether he is crying due to regrets about his Torah learning, family, or wealth. “No,” says Rabbi Elazar pointing to his own body. “I am crying because of this beauty, which will rot in the earth.” “In that case,” says his friend, “you surely have reason to weep.” (Talmud Berachot 5b) The two men cry together, holding hands.

A Farewell to Sh’ma

Susan BerrinNovember 1, 2019

“Teach us to treasure each day, that our hearts are open to Your wisdom.”

Giving Endings Meaning

David EllensonNovember 1, 2019

A Hebrew adage asserts, “Kol hat’chalot kashot,” “All beginnings are difficult.” So are endings. In the case of Sh’ma, it has been 50 years since my teacher Rabbi Eugene Borowitz inaugurated this journal of Jewish ideas and responsibility as a vehicle for Jewish communal discussion, debate, and dialogue, and my feelings are mixed ones of sadness and gratitude as I both lament the journal’s impending closure and am grateful for its many years of existence. This, the final issue of Sh’ma, marks the end of a vital chapter in American-Jewish history.

I Pass This on to You

Alice ShalviNovember 1, 2019

Now that I have grown old and reached the venerable age of 93, I live more in the past than in the present. With physical activity restricted by what has been a gradual waning of bodily strength, I of necessity spend more time alone, my contemporaries no longer alive, the younger generations too preoccupied with their own current issues, both personal and professional.

Today’s Life, Tomorrow’s Afterlife

Avi KillipNovember 1, 2019

When you close your eyes and conjure an image of your ideal afterlife, what appears? Are you able to visit with lost loved ones? Do you finally find the answers to life’s most hidden truths? Is there an all-you-can-eat buffet? Do you have a body? Can you conjure any image at all?