Benjamin Perlstein

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Dec 5, 2014, 1:12 AM

Vayishlach: The Strength to Do What’s Right and New

We began our discussion of the saga of Jacob’s life with commentary on his failure to translate his introverted qualities into true introspection. We continued by investigating the role that dreaming plays in his emergence into adulthood. In this...

Nov 27, 2014, 10:13 AM

Vayetzei: From Dream to Reality

It is one of the Torah’s great moments of revelation: just after being thrown out of his parents’ household, cast into exile to escape his brother’s revenge for stealing their father’s primary blessing, Jacob stops for the night, places...

Nov 20, 2014, 10:21 PM

Toldot: Introversion Without Introspection

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, when Rebekah conceives, we are told that the children struggle inside of her. God tells her, “two nations are in your womb, two separate peoples shall issue from your body” (Gen. 25:23)....

Nov 14, 2014, 6:14 PM

Chayei Sarah: Creativity, Continuity and Death

If the relationship between morality and creativity begins in earnest with the introduction of the phenomenon of covenant, then its most important measure of success is continuity: the capacity of a living tradition to be both sustainably principled and...

Nov 14, 2014, 2:03 PM

Vayera: Where Vision Meets Values

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You...

Oct 31, 2014, 5:38 AM

Noach: The Creativity of Covenant

There is a midrash that God created many worlds before the world of Genesis, building up and then tearing down numerous versions before settling on one that fulfilled the divine creative criteria (Gen. R., 3:7). Given the constant reminders...

Oct 31, 2014, 5:35 AM

Lech Lecha: The Virtue of Self-Creation

In Parshat Noach we saw how morality and creativity in the Torah begin to be fused through the concept of covenant. In Parshat Lech Lecha we see how the practice of covenant between God and humanity matures into a...

Oct 31, 2014, 5:35 AM

Bereishit: Creativity and Morality

What is the proper relationship between creativity and morality? Placing the words creativity and morality side by side at all might seem unusual or confusing, if not counterintuitive or downright rebellious. And yet it is actually a juxtaposition so well...

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About Me

Benjamin Perlstein is a political and strategic communications consultant living in Tel Aviv. He is an alumnus of the Yeshiva Summer Fellowship at Mechon Hadar in New York City, and holds a BA in Political Science from Tufts University.