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1 12, 2025

Parashat Vayishlah 5786

Marisa Amith2025-12-01T14:40:05-05:00

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayishlah

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz (AJR 2014)

Our patriarch Jacob is a troubled soul who experiences three profound encounters with the Divine, each of which takes place at a significant moment in his life. This week’s Torah reading, Vayishlah, tells of the second of the encounters, bookended by those in Parshiot Vayetzei and Vayigash.

At the beginning of the Jacob narrative we read about how he takes sibling rivalry to the nth level. First, he tricks his ever-so-slightly older twin brother Esau into selling his birthright for a pot of stew. Dayenu that would have been enough for Jacob to earn the label “not a nice guy.” Yet he goes even further by convincing their aging and blind father Isaac to give him, Jacob, the blessing intended for the elder Esau. This enrages Esau to the point of threatening to kill his deceitful brother, so Jacob Read More >

Parashat Vayishlah 5786Marisa Amith2025-12-01T14:40:05-05:00

26 11, 2025

Parashat Vayeitzei – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-11-26T08:11:16-05:00

Separating Joys

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeitzei
By Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson

When Jacob finally marries his uncle Laban’s daughter in Parashat Vayeitzei, he discovers that he and Laban disagree about which daughter he is supposed to marry. But Jacob and Laban do agree that every wedding is a week-long affair; Jacob makes no objection to Laban’s suggestion that he wait to marry Rachel until “the week of this one” – Leah – is over. Apparently, the entire bridal week is spent feasting, judging by the later wedding precedents of Samson (Judg. 14:11) and Tobit (Tob. 11:18). An anonymous baraita in the Babylonian Talmud (Ketubot 7b) updates the practice for rabbinic norms: not only are there seven days of feasting, but also seven days of reciting the birkat hatanim – the grooms’ blessing. This blessing is the ancestor of our Sheva Berakhot, which can still be recited at a festive meal Read More >

Parashat Vayeitzei – 5786Marisa Amith2025-11-26T08:11:16-05:00

17 11, 2025

Parashat Toledot – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-11-17T10:16:37-05:00

A D’var Torah for Parashat Toledot

By Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak

Aa -pchee (I sneeze) “Bless you” – you say.

Oh, thank you! Thank you for your blessings! I feel very blessed!

To say “Bless you” after someone sneezes has become an integral part of our everyday speech and when we say it, we don’t even realize that we are “bestowing” a blessing over someone.

One of the reasons Americans say “bless you” is because people used to believe a sneeze caused someone to expel their soul out of their body, and so “God bless you” or “Bless you” was used as a protection against the devil snatching your soul.

One thing is certain – the word “blessing” holds a great power!

According to Merriam-Webster.com, “blessing is defined as a) the act or words of one that blesses and b) approval or encouragement.”

When we offer a blessing, we are essentially boosting up the person to whom we are speaking. When Read More >

Parashat Toledot – 5786Marisa Amith2025-11-17T10:16:37-05:00

13 11, 2025

Parashat Hayyei Sarah – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-11-13T15:12:46-05:00

A D’var Torah for Parashat Hayyei Sarah

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

For the last two years our Jewish people have been in a state of trauma and mourning – yes, I would say it is PTSD on a national scale. We’ve been worried constantly about what was happening in Israel, especially with the hostages, and worried about our physical safety and emotional security in the Diaspora. Now with the return of the living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and some of the bodies of the murdered hostages, we are able to have a modicum of relief, a chance to begin mourning rituals, and a ‘moment to breathe again’, as Rabbi Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Ha-Levi said in their recent “For Heaven’s Sake” podcast. As regards those of us in the Diaspora, there is a momentary lull, though we still live with much anxiety and keep both eyes and ears open for any potential Read More >

Parashat Hayyei Sarah – 5786Marisa Amith2025-11-13T15:12:46-05:00

3 11, 2025

Parashat Vayeira 5786

Marisa Amith2025-11-03T11:12:18-05:00

Abraham’s Vision: Welcoming the Stranger

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeira

by Rabbi Rachel Posner, Ph.D. (AJR 25)

In the middle of the day, under the full weight of the desert sun, God appears to Abraham as he sits at the entrance of his tent. So opens the scene in which we witness our patriarch’s radical hospitality.

The theme of vision preoccupies the opening of our (appropriately titled) Parashat Vayeira (“and He appeared”):

Genesis 18:1–2

וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ הֹ’ בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃

HaShem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.

וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רׇץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃

Looking up, he saw three figures standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, bowing to the ground.

God “appears” to Abraham; Abraham “looks up,” “sees” the Read More >

Parashat Vayeira 5786Marisa Amith2025-11-03T11:12:18-05:00

27 10, 2025

Marisa Amith2025-10-27T13:30:00-04:00

The Eternal As Our Compass
A D’var Torah for Lekha
By Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman

The Eternal As Our Compass

A D’var Torah for Parashat Lekh Lekha

By Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman (AJR ’11)

Perhaps you are familiar with the opening phrase of this week’s Torah portion in which God speaks to Avram and tells him “Lekh Lekha-Go Forth, and leave your native land and your father’s house.” Much ink has been spilled exploring the meaning of these opening words; the command to leave behind all that is familiar. But this week, I want to focus on Avram’s destination. There is an interesting lack of clarity as to where exactly he, and by extension, we are meant to go.

The complete opening verse states: And the Eternal said to Avram, Go forth from your native land, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1) And thus, the Read More >

Marisa Amith2025-10-27T13:30:00-04:00

20 10, 2025

Parashat Noah – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-10-20T14:21:46-04:00

Thinking about floods, languages, anger and love

A D’var Torah for Parashat Noah

By Rabbi Anat Katzir (AJR ’22)

As I am writing this D’var, I am feeling flooded. Flooded with so much emotion. Flooded with feelings that I have been accumulating over two years and some that were building even longer.

Hearing the story of Noah and the flood as a child seemed magical, a miraculous tale of survival. But a flood of such proportions seemed unrelatable, unreal, a legend. Something so scary, powerful, non-discriminatory in its destruction, that it could only be a myth. Then two years ago, in one day, the idea of such a flood became all too real as I woke up at 4 a.m. to the updates on the TV as Israeli news was in the background. That part wasn’t uncommon. Falling asleep to the news of Israel continuously playing on the TV. But that morning the headlines were different; they started ominous, Read More >

Parashat Noah – 5786Marisa Amith2025-10-20T14:21:46-04:00

13 10, 2025

Parashat Bereisheet – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-10-13T09:16:33-04:00

A Work in Progress: God’s Ongoing Creation and Our Role in It

A D’var Torah for Parashat Bereisheet

By Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein (AJR ’24)

The opening verses of Parashat Bereisheet describe a familiar scene: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We are taught that creation unfolds over seven days, each marked by a specific act of divine utterance and artistry. From the light to the firmament, from the trees to the stars, we witness a world being meticulously brought into being. And then, on the seventh day, God rests. The story seems complete.

Yet, a closer look reveals that the creation narrative is not simply a historical account of a completed event. The text states: “Vayekhal Elohim bayom ha-shevi’i melakhto asher asah”—”God completed (or ceased from) on the seventh day His work that He had done” (Genesis 2:2). This specific choice of the root k.l.h (כ.ל.ה) for “completed/ceased” (often translated as “finished”) Read More >

Parashat Bereisheet – 5786Marisa Amith2025-10-13T09:16:33-04:00

29 09, 2025

Parashat Ha’azinu – 5786

Marisa Amith2025-09-29T10:51:29-04:00

“From the hands of his enemies and from the hands of Saul”

A D’var Torah for Parashat Ha’azinu

By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg

The traditional cycle of Haftarot, prophetic readings for each Shabbat and holiday of the year, is one of the more confusing parts of synagogue ritual, between the numerous differences in practice between Ashkenazic and Sefardic communities, [1] the even greater number of divergences in practice when one considers the Italian and Mizrahi rites, and the quirks of the holiday cycle that are hard for anyone to keep track of without a detailed perpetual calendar (or a website like hebcal.com).

This is one of the relatively few years when traditional Jewish communities read the Haftarah for the Torah portion of Ha’azinu, a poem from the end of the 2nd Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 22). Most frequently, the Torah portion of Ha’azinu is read between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, prompting the Read More >

Parashat Ha’azinu – 5786Marisa Amith2025-09-29T10:51:29-04:00

22 09, 2025

Parashat Vayeilekh – 5785

Marisa Amith2025-09-22T12:13:14-04:00

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeilekh

by Rabbi Marge Wise (AJR ’21)

Although the shortest parashah in the Torah with 30 verses, parashat Vayeilekh teaches us so much about life, the trajectory of life’s journey, ways to view life’s accomplishments, the high points and the disappointments. Trying to find a theme for my D’var Torah has led me to be introspective. Being at home for a few days with Covid – which I had avoided until now and had hoped to continue avoiding! – helped fuel that introspection!

I learned a lot in the process of doing research for this D’var Torah. For one, I learned a new word: generativity. But before I get there, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l, describes Moses in a way which makes him seem very – well, “human”. He describes Moses as someone who has achieved it all – and now what? He tells the children of Israel that he can no Read More >

Parashat Vayeilekh – 5785Marisa Amith2025-09-22T12:13:14-04:00

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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