Academy for Jewish Religion

Parashat Vayeira 5786

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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-11-03T11:12:18-05:00November 3, 2025|

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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-10-27T13:30:00-04:00October 27, 2025|

Parashat Noah – 5786

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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-10-20T14:21:46-04:00October 20, 2025|

Parashat Bereisheet – 5786

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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-10-13T09:16:33-04:00October 13, 2025|

Parashat Ha’azinu – 5786

“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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-09-29T10:51:29-04:00September 29, 2025|

Parashat Vayeilekh – 5785

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 >

By Marisa Amith|2025-09-22T12:13:14-04:00September 22, 2025|

Parashat Nitzavim – 5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Nitzavim

By Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR ’15)

Parashat Nitzavim is usually read a week or two before Rosh Hashanah, and begins with Moses reminding us that following Torah, God’s commandments, isn’t so difficult, or at least it shouldn’t be.

The parashah begins with Moses acknowledging the entire community standing before him; the elders, the tribal leaders, the children, men and women, resident aliens, everyone from the woodchopper to the water drawers. (Dev. 29:9-10)

I’ve always wondered why the professions of wood chopping and water drawing would not only be singled out, but presented in a way that suggests that they’re two ends of spectrum, or that perhaps these are unskilled laborers who might not be as learned as the elders of the community. And I also wonder, when we say “from alef to tav,” for example, there are usually steps in between. Here, we’re not told about Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-09-16T10:41:43-04:00September 16, 2025|

Parashat Ki Tavo -5785

Teach Your Children Well

A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo

By Rabbi Greg Schindler

From the moment she stepped into the home in Tuscumbia, Alabama on March 3, 1887, 21-year old Anne Sullivan faced a daunting challenge. Not only was her new 6-year old pupil blind (like Anne), but she was also deaf, mute, and very unruly.

Anne immediately began signing words into the child’s hand. It took a month of constant repetition, but eventually the girl began to comprehend that the words drawn on her hand represented things in the world. Anne understood that teaching this child would best be achieved by focusing on touch, smell, and taste. And so, many of their lessons took place outdoors where they could touch the animals, smell the flowers, and taste the fruits.

One concept, however, proved extremely challenging — the difference between the “mug” and the “milk” that it held. While she was washing one morning, the Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-09-08T12:39:10-04:00September 8, 2025|

Parashat Ki Teitzei – 5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Teitzei

By Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan

As we enter the month of Elul, preparing for Rosh Hashanah, many of us begin to plan who will be seated at our festive tables — and realize also, who will not. For some, this season stirs joy. For others, it stirs old and new grief.

Rabbi Naomi Levy, a contemporary liturgist, offers a powerful “Prayer When a Parent Dies” in her book Talking to God:

“I miss you. You gave me my life. You were my protector, my teacher, my moral compass, my comfort. I feel so alone without you. No one worries about me the way you did. No one loves me the way you did… Please forgive me for the times I caused you pain, and for the times I took you for granted… I will always treasure the lessons you taught me. I will carry them with me all Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-09-02T11:33:33-04:00September 2, 2025|

Parashat Shoftim – 5785

One to Keep Before You… And One to Carry with You

A D’var Torah for Parashat Shoftim

By Rabbi Enid C. Lader

As Moses continues his instructions to all the people of Israel as they [we] are preparing to enter the Promised Land, he says:

“You shall be free to set a king over yourself, one chosen by the Eternal your God… He shall not keep many horses… He shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess.

When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he is to write himself a Mishneh Torah – a copy of this Instruction – in a scroll, before the presence of Levitical priests. Let it remain with him and let him read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere the Eternal his God, to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-08-26T13:32:16-04:00August 26, 2025|

Parashat Re’eh – 5785

The Torah of Vacation

A D’var Torah for Parashat Re’eh

By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg, PhD

Here’s a good question to ask in August: What does the Torah teach us about how to go on vacation?

Our initial answer might be: not so much. You would have a hard time coming up with references to vacation in the Torah. Perhaps one could refer to Shabbat as a weekly vacation, but that uses the word “vacation” very differently from how we tend to use it.

There is a lot of discussion of travel in the Torah: Abraham moves to the land of Israel; the people of Israel go down to Egypt, and then take a long and scenic route for forty years back to the land of Israel. But most of this travel is desperate wandering and displacement, rather Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-08-19T13:27:37-04:00August 19, 2025|

Parashat Eikev – 5785

The Heart of the Matter¹

A D’var Torah for Parashat Eikev

by Rabbi Greg Schindler (2009)

In this week’s D’var Torah, Rabbi Greg Schindler digs deep to see if there is a central lesson hidden in our Parashah.

If you are a frequent reader of Divrei Torah, then you are probably familiar with some of the great Torah commentators: Rashi, Ramban, Ibn Ezra and many others have helped generations to better understand the weekly parashah.

But what if I told you that there was a Torah commentator even more ancient than these great scholars, older even than the Talmud? And more “plugged in” than any of them. Well, there is such a commentator, and it has been hiding in plain sight for millennia.

That commentator is the Torah itself².

No, this does not Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-08-11T12:20:45-04:00August 11, 2025|

Parashat Vaethanan – 5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vaethanan

by Rabbi Marge Wise (AJR ‘21)

Shalom Hevre,

The haftarah following the Torah reading of Parashat Vaethanan opens with the words Nahamu nahamu ami, the quintessential recipe for comfort for b’nei yisrael following the saddest day of the year for our people, Tisha B’Av. I would like to discuss three themes which I believe are woven into the fabric of parashat Vaethanan: Our love for God, gratitude and the concept of comfort, itself.

Tisha B’Av, for me, always brings to mind a significant memory. Curiously, this year for the first time I was able to reach some closure regarding that memory…. It was early in the afternoon of Tisha B’Av when, decades ago, my husband and I and our two children – both under two years old at the time! – headed out on the next leg of the cross-country trip which we took that summer.

Long story very short, we were Read More >

By Marisa Amith|2025-08-05T15:30:13-04:00August 5, 2025|

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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Parashat Vayeira 5786

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