Parashat Miketz, 5778
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13
12, 2017
5
12, 2017
Parashat Vayeshev, 5778
The Dreams of Joseph and Solomon
A D’var Torah for Vayeshev
Rabbi Jill Hammer
Many have suggested that events in the Book of Genesis are intertextual with events in the Book of Samuel. For example, the ketonet pasim, the colorful striped coat that Joseph wears as his brothers betray him and sell him into slavery, has a direct relationship with the ketonet pasim, the colorful striped coat that Tamar daughter of David wears as her brother Amnon betrays and rapes her. In fact, in Tanakh there are the only two “striped coats” (the Hebrew word pas may mean “to divide into parts”).
Both coats are torn. Joseph’s brothers tear his in an effort to fake his death, and Tamar tears hers in mourning for what has happened to her. Joseph and Tamar, both betrayed by siblings, must be read in light of one another. It is not even clear which text we should read first. As Read More >
28
11, 2017
Parashat Vayishlah, 5778
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21
11, 2017
Parashat Vayetzei, 5778
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14
11, 2017
Parashat Toldot, 5778
We’ll Always Have Parents: 2017
A D’var Torah for Toldot
by Rabbi Rena H. Kieval
In the classic movie Casablanca, the ill-fated lovers played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman share these words of comfort: “We’ll always have Paris.” A playful poem by Mary Jo Salter uses that line to make a point. The poem, titled, “We’ll Always Have Parents,” notes that, “We’ll always have them…they’re in our baggage.” The poem calls to mind what a wise and learned person once told me: that no matter how old we are, most of us shape our lives in response to our parents. We may define ourselves in a positive way by who our parents were, and what they taught us, and we may also define ourselves against who our parents were, and what they taught us. Most of us are driven and shaped by mixed legacies. Whatever those legacies are, “we’ll always have parents.”
Parashat Toldot reflects this Read More >
9
11, 2017
Parshat Hayei Sara, 5778
| Hospitality: Judaism’s Family Business by Rabbi Irwin Huberman |
| It was twenty years ago that my wife and I learned from two young children one of the most important values within all of Judaism.
It’s a lesson embodied in this week’s Parashah, Hayei Sarah-and it may well be a central pillar of what has allowed Jewish tradition to endure and evolve over thousands of years. I remember that chilly winter night, long before I entered the rabbinate, when the local Chabad rabbi invited my wife and me for Shabbat dinner. We were obviously nervous. Would we say something wrong? Would we stumble when asked to recite the Sabbath blessings? These questions and a dozen more like them seemed to fill the air as we made our way up our hosts’ driveway. As we approached the front steps, the door swung open, and out flew two boys, aged nine and eleven, who grabbed our gloves and coats and hats before we’d Read More > |
1
11, 2017
Parshat VaYera, 5778
| by Rabbi Isaac Mann |
| I would like to share with you a very insightful ethical interpretation of a midrashic comment that I heard in the name of Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam, who was the Rosh ha-Yeshiva of Mesivta Torah Vodaath in the latter part of the 20th century.
Commenting on the verse in Genesis 21:6, which describes Sarah’s reaction to her giving birth to Isaac at the age of 90 (“G-d has brought me laughter; whoever hears about this will laugh with me”), the Midrash adds that many barren women became pregnant (literally “were remembered by G-d”) along with her, many sick were healed along with her, many prayers were answered along with her, for there was much laughter (i.e. joy) in the world (quoted by Rashi ad loc.). The Midrash is apparently responding to the question of why would everyone who heard about Sarah’s birth erupt into joyful laughter. Surely Read More > |
24
10, 2017
Parshat Lekh Lekha
On Being a Blessing
A Dvar Torah for Lekh Lekha
By Cantor Sandy Horowitz
“I’m on the 5th floor and my window is open
and someone outside sneezed so i shouted ‘BLESS U’ out the window
and he said “THANK YOU BUILDING”
–From the twitter feed of Jonny Sun
In Parashat Lekh Lekha when Abram is called to go forth from his home God tells him, “And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2).
What is the significance of God saying Abram will “be a blessing”?
One might assume that the one chosen by God to “be a blessing” would be pure of character and righteous in action. But this is not Abraham (as Abram is later renamed).
True, he is no doubt considered a blessing by his nephew Lot after he rescues Lot from captivity in Genesis Chapter 14. Read More >
17
10, 2017
Parshat Noah
A D’var Torah for Noah
By Rabbi Jill Hammer
Recently in one of my classes at AJR, my students and I noticed an interesting biblical paradox. In Parashat Noah, once the flood has subsided, Noah makes a thanksgiving offering to YHWH. YHWH smells the pleasing odor of the offering and offers a commitment: “As long as the earth endures, planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). In return for Noah’s gratitude for being saved, the Divine promises that the cyclical patterns of nature, the basic foundation upon which human life rests, shall not cease. Even before making a covenant with Noah or offering commands about human life, YHWH promises not to destroy the earth but to allow its cycles to continue. This is a great blessing to the human beings who have been tasked with tilling and tending the earth: “l’ovdah uleshomrah” (Genesis Read More >
10
10, 2017
Parshat Bereshit
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The Ultimate Framing Narrative
A Dvar Torah for Bereshit
By Rabbi Lenny Levin
“In the beginning God created heavens and earth.” (Gen. 1:1)
“Who am I?” The answer to this question takes a narrative form. I am [fill in the name]. I grew up in such-and-such a family, went to such-and-such schools, have had such-and-such experiences and accomplishments. I belong to [one or more religious-ethnic backgrounds]. My [great-]-grandparents came here in 19xx. Our group had a history of so-many centuries in such-and-such a place. My personal narrative is embedded in family and group narratives, extending backwards through receding horizons.
Our teacher Rabbi Neil Gillman said it’s all narrative. We live our lives as narrative. When asked to tell someone (a date, an employer, a therapist, a chance encounter) something Read More >
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