Off the Pulpit Archives

Isaac Asimov’s science fiction classic “The Foundation Trilogy” is about a man named Seldon who, envisioning the coming apocalypse, creates a haven to build a great encyclopedia of human knowledge. This seemingly simple task hides a much grander scheme, and...

Why did the people of Babel build their tower to the sky? The prevailing interpretation is that they were afflicted with hubris, the sin of pride. But another interpretation is preserved in Jewish commentaries. The story of the Tower is...

In an age of polarization, it is useful to remember how often great spirits have avoided the bitterness that poisons our discourse. “With malice toward none with charity toward all.” Lincoln avoided the recriminations one might have expected in the...

Is believing the best about yourself always a virtue? The greatest religious figures are often those most convinced of their inadequacies. A man once approached A.J. Heschel and said “I love my family, I pay my taxes, I keep a...

Sometimes we know things not by their presence but by their effects. In building the periodic table, Medeleyev filled in gaps based on what he had already figured out. Certain elements, though he had not actually found them, had to...

Are you allowed to lie? The Bible tells us to “stay far from falsehood” (Ex. 23:7). But the Talmud records an argument between the school of Hillel and Shammai concerning whether one should praise a bride as beautiful if she...

On either side of the ark in the Temple were two keruvim, delicately carved golden angels. In the book of Exodus (25:20), we are told that they are to face each other. In the book of 2 Chronicles (3:13), it...

Why does the Torah begin with a bet? The question receives many answers in Jewish tradition. One common answer is that since bet is the second letter, it shows there is no true beginning to study; it is an everlasting...

“For God brought about the victory. Once Beowulf had struggled to his feet, the holy and omniscient ruler of the sky easily settled the issue in favor of the right.” What is striking about those lines from the renowned medieval...

Years ago on a trip to Paris with my then 16-year-old daughter, we visited a score of museums: The Louvre, of course, the magnificent Quai Branly, the Rodin museum, the Pompidou center, and the Hugo house. Each had a small...