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5 11, 2014

Parashat Bereishit

By Rabbi Len Levin|2014-11-05T12:05:31-05:00November 5, 2014|

Overture: Our Place in God’s Purposive World
Rabbi Len Levin

“In the beginning God created heavens and earth” (older translation)

or

“When God began to create the heavens and the earth
— the earth being chaos-shmaos (Yochanan Muffs’ paraphrase of tohu va-vohu
with darkness over the face of the deep
and the spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters —
God said, Let there be light,
And there was light.

Any way you translate it, it is a fitting opening to the most formative book in the world. Like a classic overture, the beginning chapters of Genesis articulate the themes that will reverberate through the rest of the Torah as well as the historical and prophetic writings, the psalms, and the other components of the Bible. In broad strokes, it lays out the important elements of the biblical world view:

The world is ordered by God’s creative plan.
Everything in the world — skies, seas, land, Read More >

13 02, 2014

Vayehi

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2014-02-13T11:49:42-05:00February 13, 2014|

Parashat Vay’hi
Hazzan Marcia Lane

As a Jew, and in particular as a hazzan, I’ve always felt very comfortable with life in thegolah, in exile from the Land of Israel. As much as I love it when I’m there, I feel my Judaism strengthened by my life here in the United States. In the final parashah of the book of Genesis, Vay’hi, we close out the narrative of the families of our patriarchs and prepare for the next story, one that will take the tribes descended from those patriarchs from servitude in Egypt to the brink of the Land of Canaan, which will later become Israel. The essence of Parashat Vay’hi is life and death, specifically the lives and deaths of Jacob and his beloved son Joseph. Curiously, the ways in which they lived are not necessarily reflected in the events surrounding their deaths. Is there something to be learned from these two men about relationships to family, to the land Read More >

13 02, 2014

Va-Yigash

By ahsilver|2014-02-13T11:46:57-05:00February 13, 2014|

Parashat Va-Yigash

Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

In Parashat Va-Yigash we read the following description of the conversation between Joseph’s brothers and their father Jacob.

“But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.” (Genesis 45:27)

According to this verse, Jacob had been in a state of mourning during the years when he thought that Joseph was dead, but upon hearing the news that he was still alive, “the spirit of their father Jacob revived.”

The Rambam, Moses Maimonides, in the seventh chapter of his introduction to his commentary on Pirkei Avot, addressed the issue of prophecy. What is prophecy? How does someone become a prophet? What affects prophecy? Below are some selections from that chapter, with the Rambam eventually integrating the renewed spirit of Jacob from this week’s parashah into the Read More >

14 02, 2013

Parashat Toldot

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2013-02-14T18:02:32-05:00February 14, 2013|

By Rabbi Isaac Mann

One of the most popular derashot (homiletical interpretations) that rabbis make use of when delivering sermons on the Sabbath of Terumah is one that explains the reason that the Torah forbids the removal from the Aron (the Ark) of the staves that were used to carry it. The other vessels of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) described in this week’s parashah, such as the Shulhan (the Table) and the Mizbei’ah (the Altar), also had staves that were inserted through the rings attached to the vessels to allow easy transport from place to place. But unlike the Aron, for which the Torah says (Ex. 25:15), “The staves shall be in the rings of the Ark; they shall not be taken from it,” no such prohibition is stated for the other vessels. Indeed, Maimonides lists this prohibition as one of the 613 commandments of the Torah (mitzvah 313).

The darshanim (homileticians) observe that the Read More >

27 12, 2012

Parashat Vayehi

By ahsilver|2012-12-27T17:26:28-05:00December 27, 2012|

By Rabbi Judith Edelstein

When Is a Blessing a Curse?

Shabbat provides us with a number of pivotal rituals for transformation. In the home, in particular, the first of these occurs for me after I light the Shabbos candles. Although I have already ignited them, nevertheless, I am filled with joy as I see the candles glimmering the instant I remove my hands from my eyes.

Ascending the Shabbat ladder, I am brought closest to its promise when I place my hands on my son’s head and chant the traditional blessing “May God bless you as God blessed Ephraim and Menasheh. May the One bless and protect you, illuminate your path with the spirit of holiness, and enable you to live in peace.” My six foot tall son then bows his head, giraffe-like, for me, his five feet five inch mother, to gently brush her lips on his close cropped hair. What ecstasy! Thank you, Read More >

20 12, 2012

Parashat Vayigash

By ahsilver|2012-12-20T10:42:42-05:00December 20, 2012|

By Rabbi Bob Freedman

Torah can be read as a treatise on exile. Its stories about being driven out from life’s comfort zone, from family, from community, or from the presence of God, repeat again and again, each time with a different slant. Not all end in return! Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, and a rotating fiery sword guaranteed that they could not find their way back. Cain, for his sin, was banished from his home and branded so that he could never again have a normal relationship with humanity. Abraham was led out from his birthplace, his land, and his father’s house, and God established him in a new home. Jacob fled the wrath of his brother Esau and never saw his mother again. The family of Yisrael went into exile in Egypt. They came back to their land, as God had promised, but only after years of Read More >

6 12, 2012

Parashat Vayeishev

By ahsilver|2012-12-06T18:15:30-05:00December 6, 2012|

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

As many of us exit the theater, having just seen the new Spielberg movie “Lincoln”, we cannot help but think about the impact this great president had on our world to this day through his courageous decision to put an end to slavery in this country. This act of great justice was not only in line with the founding principles of democracy embodied in our Constitution, but also based on the Biblical idea of offering freedom to slaves during the 7th and 50th years of the Hebrew calendar. It opened the door to new life, new opportunities, to the blessings which freedom could bring to a whole race of people who had been so terribly mistreated and forgotten for so long. Slavery is just one form of imprisonment or captivity which we should all be aware of and sensitive to.

The mitzvah of releasing captives – Pidyon Shevuyim – is Read More >

29 11, 2012

Parashat Vayishlah

By ahsilver|2012-11-29T14:52:18-05:00November 29, 2012|

By Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman

This week’s parashah, Va-Yishlah focuses on the homeward journey of Jacob and his family. This entire sidrah seems to swing widely between the poles of blessing and calamity. While the overt context of the parashah focuses on Jacob’s inner and outward journeys, the feminine voices within the family are struck down through tragedy and death. Much as Jacob/Israel can be seen as an archetypal figure representing the Jewish people, so too the loss of the feminine in this parashah may have symbolic significance for the spiritual narrative of the Jewish People.

The parashah begins with Jacob’s encounter with a mysterious “man” with whom he wrestles and from whom he demands a blessing. He receives a new name, the root of which can be understood as Sar-to exert authority, to master. The implication is that he has mastered some aspect of relationship to both the Divine and to human beings. (See Read More >

26 11, 2012

Parashat Vayeitzei

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2012-11-26T11:56:07-05:00November 26, 2012|

By Rabbi Isaac Mann

Parashat Vayeitzei speaks of Jacob’s sojourn in Haran after fleeing from Eretz Canaan (the Land of Canaan) to escape Esau’s wrath. As he comes into Haran, Jacob engages in a dialogue with some of the shepherds of that town who have just arrived at the watering well with their sheep and are waiting for others to come and help them roll off the heavy stone that sits atop the well (Genesis 29:1-8).

The dialogue begins with a greeting of “My brothers, where are you from?” They respond that they are from Haran. He further asks them, “Do you know Laban son (actually grandson) of Nahor .” They respond, “We know him.” Jacob continues with, “Is he OK (more literally: Is he at peace).” Their response: “He’s OK (literally: Peace).” At that point Rachel appears on the scene, but the dialogue continues: “And he [Jacob] says, ‘The day is still long; it Read More >

16 11, 2012

Parashat Toldot

By ahsilver|2012-11-16T13:07:22-05:00November 16, 2012|

How Much Love is Too Much?

By Rabbi Judith Edelstein

This week’s parashah, Toldot, was my son’s Bar Mitzvah portion 13 years ago. I can still vividly recall teaching him Torah and Haftarah chanting. We started nine months before the date because he wanted to read as much of the parashah that he could. This was what his classmates did, and he would not be satisfied with less. I established a routine of daily practice. Often my Jacob reclined and after 10 minutes of fidgeting would brandish his foot in my face. I remained undaunted, determined that he accomplish his goal. To that end I coaxed, coached and threatened “My Little Man” (whose height then matched mine). I believed that he could do it all if he worked hard enough, despite the fact that he was quiet, shy and humble – as he has remained to this day. To my amazement, he recalls nothing of the hours we Read More >

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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