The Joy of Torah
Rabbi Dr. David Ebner
Every day has its poem (Shir Shel Yom) as does every holiday (Piyut).
In this series, four poems are read and unlocked to reveal paths that enlighten the solemnity of Rosh HaShanah and
Yom Kippur and the joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. The trembling soul of the Days of Judgement and the
dancing soul of Sukkot and Simchat Torah are refracted through the themes of poems by Denise Levertov, Harvey
Shapiro, Emily Dickinson, and William Shakespeare.
Rabbi Dr. David Ebner was an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the United States before making aliyah in
1982. He served as a Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivat HaMivtar and is one of the founders of Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi. The
author of three books of poetry, he is also working on a curriculum for the teaching of English poetry as it expresses
various aspects of Torah values.