Tim Miller
Tim Miller
(Photo by L_Shtandel via iStock)
June 6, 2026, 11:23 pm
Gleanings from Shabbat
The sages tell us that, “The Sabbath was last to be created, but first in God’s mind."
By Tim Miller
“Ruth in Boaz’s Field,” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, oil on canvas, 1828; (National Gallery, London; Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
May 13, 2026, 10:19 am
The agricultural origins of Shavuot
A celebration of the land
By Tim Miller
“The Triumph of Mordechai” by Pieter Lastman (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
February 22, 2026, 6:58 pm
The origins of Purim
“These days are recalled and observed in every generation: by every family, every province, and every city…”
By Tim Miller
(Photo by YB13D via Wikimedia Commons)
December 10, 2025, 1:47 pm
The origins of Chanukah
A history of the Festival of Lights
By Tim Miller
(Image by Valery Rybakou via iStock)
October 9, 2025, 2:40 pm
Dancing with words
Some thoughts on a "new" festival
By Tim Miller
A young family standing outside the modest sukkah they built for the holiday, Israel, 1949 (Photo courtesy of the Government Press Office, Israel, via Wikimedia Commons)
October 1, 2025, 9:35 am
The season of our rejoicing
The Water Drawing Ceremony and more
By Tim Miller
“In the synagogue” by Jakub Weinles, (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
September 22, 2025, 6:56 am
I am not yet done: Yom Kippur
Early America, Germany, Ukraine: Universal thoughts
By Tim Miller
Tim Miller is a writer living in Pittsburgh. He is online at wordandsilence.com. Caravaggio’s “Sacrifice of Isaac” (Image in public domain, via Wikimedia)
September 16, 2025, 9:18 am
The beauty of imperfection
The message of Elul through Yom Kippur “is that human change is really possible."
By Tim Miller
Saint Matthew and the Angel (Caravaggio. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
September 4, 2025, 9:34 am
Thinking about divine inspiration
What does our tradition mean when it says that God dictated the Torah to Moses, when using the word “dictated” makes it sound like the task took place in a cubicle?
By Tim Miller
Tisha B’av painting (Image by Valery Rybakou via iStock)
July 29, 2025, 1:46 pm
The quiet power of Tisha B’Av
Other religions can pretend to offer answers; Judaism seems best at offering meaning in the absence of answers.
By Tim Miller
(Image by Peggy Marco via Pixabay)
June 11, 2025, 3:43 pm
Exile in every generation: On Jewish loneliness and longing
Judaism’s genius is its portability — but with it comes a painful, persistent sense of never fully arriving.
By Tim Miller
“Ruth in Boaz’s Field,” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, oil on canvas, 1828; (National Gallery, London; Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
May 29, 2025, 7:56 am
Wherever you go, I will go
Whether through Kabbalistic gatherings, heartfelt rituals, or a kitchen filled with cheese Danishes, Shavuot remains a holiday of deep spiritual nourishment.
By Tim Miller
The Exodus from Egypt, 1907 (Providence Lithograph Company, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
April 7, 2025, 3:28 pm
It would have been enough
Fireworks, Haggadot and charity
By Tim Miller
“Purim” by Arthur Szyk (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
March 7, 2025, 4:11 pm
A Purim primer
A barely-avoided genocide being celebrated with costumes and drunkenness and jokes is itself a kind of celebration of life
By Tim Miller
(Photo courtesy of Pixabay)
December 18, 2024, 11:09 am
From the Maccabees to the Maccabeats
Like Judaism as a whole, the holiday of Chanukah seems to thrive both on tradition and improvisation.
By Tim Miller
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