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אושפיזין | Ushpizin and Ushpizata: Inviting the Avot and Imahot into your Sukkah

Shared by David Seidenberg on י״ד בתשרי ה׳תשע״ג (September 30, 2012)
Image: Manuscript Illustration of a Sukkah (Italy, 1374). British Libriary MS Or 5024 fol 70v

The essential idea of the liturgy of Ushpizin is to invoke the energies of the seven lower Sefirot in the proper order, so that Shefa, blessing and sustenance, can be drawn down into the world. This is the essence of Kabbalistic liturgy, and a liturgy of the imahot would only make sense if it were to follow that pattern. That means we have the playfully serious task of finding a stable order for the imahot where no clear order exists. . . . → Read More: אושפיזין | Ushpizin and Ushpizata: Inviting the Avot and Imahot into your Sukkah

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In Search of Seraḥ: A Prayer to Seraḥ

Shared by Chaya Kaplan-Lester on י״ח בטבת ה׳תשע״ב (January 13, 2012)
Image: Jewish cemetery in Linjan, Esfahan Province, Iran, the location of Seraḥ's tomb. Attribution: Farhad24 (Public Domain)

[In Parshat Vayigash] we read of the members of Jacob’s family who went down to Egypt. There were 53 grandsons listed, but only a single granddaughter – Seraḥ, the daughter of Asher. The commentators wonder, what was so exceptional about this girl that her name was recorded? The Midrash spills forth with stories portraying an image of a unique and endearing Biblical heroine. Seraḥ stands as a trusted, beloved sage of the people. She possessed an uncommon gift of healing through poetry and music. Somewhat as Orpheus is to Greek myth, so is Seraḥ to the Biblical myth – the archetypal poet and bard. . . . → Read More: In Search of Seraḥ: A Prayer to Seraḥ

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