Sefer Bereisheet Archives | Academy for Jewish Religion

22 12, 2025

Parashat Vayigash 5786

By Marisa Amith|2025-12-22T10:35:16-05:00December 22, 2025|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayigash

By Rabbi Anat Katzir (AJR ’22)

“The connection of shared grief and the inspiration of shared destiny.”

I sat down to begin writing my D’var Torah with an idea of exactly what I wanted to write about. Thinking ahead about the parashah there was a moment in the story that always stuck out in my memory. The moment that Joseph asks his brothers not to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and you could almost imagine him face-palming when Pharaoh asks: “what is your profession?” And they respond “we are shepherds…”

This moment has been a favorite of mine in the simple irony, with Joseph being a character that can’t seem to filter himself, sharing truths in the most blunt way throughout his story. I have always been inspired by the overarching sense that the truth has such great power that is comes out of you even when you try Read More >

15 12, 2025

Parashat Mikeitz – 5786

By Marisa Amith|2025-12-15T16:30:50-05:00December 15, 2025|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Mikeitz
By Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak

Who doesn’t like fairy tales? Even as adults, although we don’t always admit it, we enjoy going back to the stories that were once read to us by our parents. The magic of fairy tales, the happy endings, the prevalence of good versus evil—these concepts stay with us forever, instilling hope that, even when life is hard, it will get better.

My favorites were always the ones that had narratives involving themes of destiny, overcoming challenges, true love, and reclaiming what’s lost.

Take “Cinderella.” She worked so hard, lived in poverty, and was abused. Yet she was the one—not her rich sisters—whom the prince fell in love with and married (not without some magic, of course).

Or what about “The Ugly Duckling?” He was abandoned by the swan flock and was so ugly that no one wanted him. But as he grew, he turned into a beautiful Read More >

1 12, 2025

Parashat Vayishlah 5786

By Marisa Amith|2025-12-01T14:40:05-05:00December 1, 2025|

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 >

26 11, 2025

Parashat Vayeitzei – 5786

By Marisa Amith|2025-11-26T08:11:16-05:00November 26, 2025|

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 >

13 11, 2025

Parashat Hayyei Sarah – 5786

By Marisa Amith|2025-11-13T15:12:46-05:00November 13, 2025|

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 >

3 11, 2025

Parashat Vayeira 5786

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

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 >

27 10, 2025

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

20 10, 2025

Parashat Noah – 5786

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

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 >

13 10, 2025

Parashat Bereisheet – 5786

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

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 >

20 01, 2025

Parashat Vaera – 5785

By Marisa Amith|2025-01-20T16:55:22-05:00January 20, 2025|

Let me ask you this: “As a child, what did you most associate with Christmas? What about Hanukkah? Easter? Passover?” Think about the images you associated with these holidays. Then think about what an evergreen tree has to do with the birth of Jesus; or why eight gifts represent Hanukkah. And how about connecting jelly donuts with the victory of Maccabees over Assyrian King Antiochus and the Hellenistic influence over the Israelites. Better yet, what does a bunny and chocolate eggs have to do with the crucifixion of Jesus? And even more interesting, how does the happy tune of the “Frog” song reflect on the horrifying experience of the one of 10 plagues – which caused so much suffering among Egyptians?

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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