Parashat Vayeitzei 5782

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeitzei
By Rabbi Katy Allen (’05)

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

Once long ago and far away there lived a wise Queen who ruled a small but thriving territory. The Queen had three daughters. As each daughter came of age, the Queen gave her 10 pieces of gold and admonished her to use them both wisely and compassionately. The oldest daughter gave one piece of gold to help feed and clothe the poor and hungry, and the Queen was pleased by this. The second daughter gave two pieces of gold to help feed and clothe the poor and hungry, and the Queen was much pleased by this. The third daughter gave three – and some say she gave all 10 – pieces of gold to help feed and clothe the poor and hungry, and the Queen was not pleased.

The origins of this Read More >

By Linda Ripps|2022-11-09T14:56:07-05:00November 12, 2021|

Parashat Toledot 5782

Our Torah portion opens with the words ‘Ele toledot (Gen. 25:19) – variously translated as “These are the generations/records/lineage/descendants/begettings of…”; basically, carrying us into the next generation, and, in the case of this week’s portion, continuing the story of Isaac and Rebecca. However, with the announcement of a barren wife (Gen. 25:21), the next generation is put in jeopardy. Ultimately, they will have children, but in looking back, what might they have shared with each other? I was walking in the field in the late afternoon; I was riding on a camel… I looked up and saw her from afar; I fell off my camel… and put on my veil… I heard about her generosity and strength; He brought me into the tent that had been his mother’s… I loved her; I loved him… In my loss she brought me comfort; I had left my home and found comfort in his arms… Almost twenty years later and no children; For almost twenty years we tried and tried… I cannot think of being with anyone else; No handmaid, no second wife, no surrogate for us… I appealed to God – for my wife is barren; I was right by his side – and in time, my own appeal: Oy! What did I ask for?

By Rabbi Enid C. Lader|2022-07-29T11:24:16-04:00November 5, 2021|

Parashat Hayei Sarah

The Torah portion of Hayei Sarah begins with tragedy. Abraham, dwelling in Beer Sheva, learns that his wife Sarah has died in the city of Hebron, a day’s journey away. He arrives to Sarah’s side “to cry for her and to eulogize her.” (v. 2) But for those who are familiar with traditional Jewish practices regarding care for the deceased, the next sentence makes this tragedy in Abraham’s life even more devastating: “And Abraham arose from the presence of his dead…” (v. 3) Without burial plans already made for his wife, Abraham is forced – in the depth of his grief – to initiate a real estate transaction with his neighbors, the Hittites. The remainder of Genesis Chapter 23 describes these negotiations in exacting detail, perhaps in order to highlight how emotionally challenging this process was for Abraham in his vulnerable state.

By Linda Ripps|2022-07-29T11:24:16-04:00October 28, 2021|

Parashat Vayeira 5782

This past Sunday I visited our third grade class. One of the students asked me a question – How many letters are there in a Torah? In rabbinic school we learn that although we “Rabbis to be” will not be able to answer every question put to us, we will be able to know where to go and look for the answer to any question we cannot answer immediately. I immediately knew exactly where to go to answer this question. As the students looked on, I whipped out my cell phone and googled it! There were, I told the students, 304,805 letters in the Torah. In addition, there were 79,847 words in a Torah scroll. In fact, the Talmud tells us that the early Sages were called “soferim”, or “counters” because, so dear was the Torah to them, that they counted every letter and word. To this day, a person who writes a Torah is called a “sofer” – a counter – and not a “kotev” or writer.

By Rabbi Marc Rudolph|2022-07-29T11:24:16-04:00October 22, 2021|

Parashat Lekh Lekha 5782

I find myself still catching my breath post Haggim. Taking the process of engaging in Heshbon HaNefesh – an accounting of our behavior – and transforming it into self-improvement in the new year – 5782. For me a question exists of whether it is helpful and productive to establish a high bar of behavior for ourselves; one that we ultimately cannot maintain. In this week’s Parashah, Sarah (still referred to as Sarai at this point), due to her inability to bear children, requests that Avraham (a.k.a Avram) take Hagar as his wife; literally that she gave Hagar to Avraham her husband to be his wife. (Genesis 16:2-3) Notwithstanding the many ways in which this story understandably violates our sensibilities, e.g., the bigamy and misogyny, there is a lesson to be gleaned in how Sarah performs this selfless act. Nehama Leibowitz describes it as an act of supreme sacrifice. (Nehama Leibowitz, New Studies in Bereishit-Genesis, at p. 154) After all, Sarah could have asked Avraham to take Hagar as a concubine and not given her the status of wife. (I know, oy!)

By Doug Alpert|2022-07-29T11:24:16-04:00October 15, 2021|

Parashat Noah 5782

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Two Understandings of Leadership – A Tightrope We All Walk
A D’var Torah for Parashat Noah
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman

Every time I write or speak about parshat Noah, I am determined to get past the first verse and find a d’var Torah somewhere in the remaining 152 verses. Sometimes I am successful. Today, not so much. I apologize for the focus on the very famous midrash which many of you know well. But hopefully, I will be able to frame it differently and expand on it just a bit.

The first verse of the parsha reads: “These are the generations of Noah, Noah was ‘tzaddik tamim’ in his generation” (Gen. 6:9). Of course, the words that raise the red flag are ‘in his generation.’

To quote Rashi, “There are those among the Rabbis who expound these words as praise, that is, if Noah could be a tzaddik Read More >

By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman|2022-07-29T11:24:17-04:00October 8, 2021|

Parashat Bereisheet 5782

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Bereisheet
By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone

As we once again begin our annual reading of the Torah, we anticipate the many rich stories that pervade the first book of the Bible. The narratives remain the same year after year, despite our hopes that perhaps this time our ancestors might not make the same mistakes that they did in the last Torah reading cycle. The first mistake that we encounter is of course the decision to eat from the forbidden fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. The snake encourages Havah (a.k.a Eve) to have a taste and that fateful choice ultimately leads to the expulsion of humanity from that prehistoric paradise.

Narrowing in on the dialogue between the snake and Havah, we find that the primordial mother of humanity does not articulate the prohibition as God initially instructed. Read More >

By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone, PhD|2022-07-29T11:24:17-04:00October 1, 2021|

Parashat Ha’azinu

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In the Aftermath of Yom Kippur
A D’var Torah for Parashat Ha’azinu
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman

The poem/song of Ha’azinu begins with a grammatical problem. The first verb in the opening verse – ha’azinu, listen – is in the imperative form. However, the second verb – tishma, hear – is in the simple form. Moses demands that the heavens “listen” and then lets us know that the earth “will hear.”

This inconsistency captured the attention of the Or HaHayyim (Rabbi Chayim ben Attar). After addressing this problem on the level of peshat, he continues from the perspective of derash: “Moses addressed the two components of which a person is made, the spiritual and the physical. The ‘heavens’ represent the spiritual dimension and ‘the earth’ represents the physical/material.” In other words, Moses was speaking to the soul and to the body. The grammar points to a very important and very instructive Read More >

By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman|2022-07-29T11:24:17-04:00September 17, 2021|

Parashat Vayeilekh 5782

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A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeilekh
By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone

Shanah tovah! As we transition into a new Jewish year we also near the completion of our annual reading of the Torah and prepare to begin the cycle again. This week, at the beginning of parashat Vayeilekh, Moses speaks briefly to the Israelites before turning his attention to Joshua. With Joshua poised to take the helm, Moses offers him a few words of wisdom before he leads the people into the promised land. I would suggest that the beginning of our parasha not only offers sagacious advice for Joshua and the Israelites, but also provides important guidance and reminders for contemporary Jewish leaders. I would like to highlight three lessons that emerge as we look closely at the beginning of Deuteronomy 31.

First, the very name of our parasha evokes movement Read More >

By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone, PhD|2022-07-29T11:24:17-04:00September 10, 2021|

Parashat Nitzavim 5781

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The Covenant is for Everyone
A D’var Torah for Parashat Nitzavim
By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein (’16)

This weekend, I was blessed to officiate over a Baby Naming. Like the other two baby namings I have done this year, this is a baby born at the beginning of the pandemic when parents were very reluctant to plan any kind of celebration. As much as March through May 2020 were a particularly terrifying and isolating time for all of us, I can only imagine how much more so that was true for parents of a newborn. And so, it is with so much joy and relief that we gather this weekend, even among rising concerns of the Delta variant and the possibility of returning to online High Holy Day services, to finally officially welcome this now-toddler into the Jewish community with a Hebrew name Read More >

By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein|2022-07-29T11:24:17-04:00September 3, 2021|

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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