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23 12, 2009

Parashat Vayigash

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2009-12-23T19:31:46-05:00December 23, 2009|

By Rabbi Jill Hammer

Parashat Vayigash, the Torah portion of this week, tells the story of the final reconciliation of Joseph with his brothers. The eleven brothers, including Benjamin, the youngest, are in the throne room of the Egyptian vizier, and the vizier demands of them that Benjamin remain in Egypt as a slave. The brothers are horrified. Judah steps forward, offering himself in place of Benjamin, for he fears the grief that his father will feel if Benjamin does not return. It is this selfless act that inspires Joseph and finally frees him to reveal himself to his brothers. The Egyptian vizier is transformed into the long-lost Joseph, and the family reunites.

This is the same Judah who sold Joseph into Egypt. What has changed? Judah’s moving speech – “let me not see the grief that will find my father!”- shows his newfound empathy. And, there are also hidden clues in Judah’s language. Read More >

17 12, 2009

Parashat Miketz

By jackielebwohl|2009-12-17T21:08:16-05:00December 17, 2009|

By Rabbi Eric Hoffman

In preparing for this D’var Torah I read back into the archives of AJR Divrei Torah on the sedra, initially to avoid repeating themes and references already shared on these pages. Instead, I discovered a treasure of thinking that deserved to be repeated, not avoided. Last year, 5769, Hayley Siegel showed how the tortuous encounters between Joseph and his brothers led to the establishment of trust between them based upon the brothers’ confessions of truth. In 5768, Sanford Olshansky demonstrated the development of Joseph’s character in accordance with the theory of Mishnah Avot 5:21 as a factor in his reconciliation with his brothers. In 5767, Irwin Huberman drew lessons of conservation and the redirection of surplus to help the poor in our midst from Joseph’s master plan for Egypt. In 5766, Michael Rothbaum characterized Chanukah as the Rabbis’ rewriting of Maccabean Read More >

11 12, 2009

Parashat VaYeishev

By ahsilver|2009-12-11T09:06:05-05:00December 11, 2009|

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

The test of a person’s
character comes when we are faced with a circumstance to which we must clearly
reply. While we understand that not everything can be seen or judged so
clearly, that often there are many connected factors to consider, yet in the
end the choice we ultimately make will reflect our values.

On this Shabbat, our Torah
portion brings us the contrasting positions of Judah and Joseph each who
respond to a sexual challenge in opposite ways. On the one hand there is Judah,
who, upon seeing the ‘harlot’ (who is really Read More >

2 12, 2009

Parashat Vayishlah

By ahsilver|2009-12-02T07:42:17-05:00December 2, 2009|

Wrestling
By Jill Minkoff

The day after Thanksgiving, my daughter and I were deciding what to do with leftovers. While in her kitchen, I shared with her my assignment to write a D’var Torah about Parashat Vayishlah.

“Wow!” she said, “I was just studying that with a student I am tutoring. The student really connected with the part about Jacob wrestling the angel and then realizing it was God [or, as NJPS translates Elohim, ‘beings divine’]. Afterward, we read the story of Abraham arguing with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gemorah. She said that exploring both of these stories helped her to understand what her father has been trying to teach her about choosing one’s battles – One needs to be selective.”

“Hmmm…” I found myself thinking, “What does being selective in picking battles have to do with Jacob’s wrestling match? Did he have a choice? This is not where I would Read More >

24 11, 2009

Parashat VaYeitzei

By Rabbi Jill Hackell M.D.|2009-11-24T11:41:00-05:00November 24, 2009|

By Jill G. Hackell

In Parashat VaYeitzei we read, “When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?” Rachel cries out from the depths of her anguish, and her husband, who loves her, is angry, and hurtful to her. What is going on here, and what can we learn from this interaction?

Some commentators, over the centuries, have sought to exonerate Jacob for his reaction, placing blame on Rachel; others, more in keeping with our modern sensibilities, have rebuked Jacob for his insensitivity.

Rashi tells us Rachel wasn’t literally asking Jacob to give her a child – she was asking him to pray Read More >

17 11, 2009

Parshat Toledot

By ahsilver|2009-11-17T13:49:49-05:00November 17, 2009|

‘A New Look at Esav’
(Page references to Chumash Etz Chaim)
Rabbi David Mark

In this parashah, we meet Esav and Jacob for the first time’they are twins, but unalike. Esav is ‘red, like a hairy mantle’ (Gen 25:25, p.147), while Jacob is a ‘smooth man.’ Esav becomes ‘a skillful hunter,’ while Jacob is ‘a tent-dweller.’ (Gen 25:27)

Most rabbinic commentary on Esav has been prejudiced against him, considering him a foolish country bumpkin or an idolatrous villain. He is a fool because he sold his birthright to clever Jacob for a bowl of red-bean chili, thereby losing the better blessing. Other rabbis consider him dangerous because he is a hunter, unlike civilized Jacob, a shepherd. Finally, he is an idolater, because he marries two pagan Hittite women, who become ‘a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.’ (Gen 26:35) They consider even his red hair to be evil(!), because, during the chili incident, he Read More >

12 11, 2009

Parashat Hayyei Sarah

By ahsilver|2009-11-12T16:24:05-05:00November 12, 2009|

By Rabbi Henry Glazer

Last Sunday I turned seventy. Since then I have found myself contemplating my mortality and vulnerability. I have experienced an array of feelings touching on sadness, fear and uncertainty. There was more in my life that was behind rather than ahead of me; my cup was no longer full, but mostly empty.

This is a depressing thought, one that confronts us with a spiritual challenge not only when we age, but whenever we feel that life’s fullness is somehow out of reach for us, whether as a result of loss, illness, grief or some other personal experience of failure. How do we cope? How do we go ahead with our lives in a joyful and meaningful way?

One answer is found, I believe, in a striking passage of Hayyei Sarah. Sarah has died, Abraham has acquired a burial place for her, and we are told: “Abraham was old, advanced Read More >

5 11, 2009

Parashat Vayera

By ahsilver|2009-11-05T12:51:46-05:00November 5, 2009|

Every year we read the same parashiyot, in the same order, always finding something new. This year, my discovery came last Rosh HaShanah, when I reviewed this week’s parashah, Vayera.

We all know Parashat Vayera. Angels visit Abraham, Abraham argues with God, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters have interesting, incestuous relationships, Sarah has her long-awaited son, Sarah expels Hagar and Ishmael from the camp, and, well, let’s stop there.

As we all know, there are no vowels in the Torah. For the pronunciation of the words, we depend on the Masoretes, those people who about 1,000 years ago punctuated the Torah, set it to music, and told us how the words should be pronounced. Because there are no vowels in the Torah, and because Hebrew is a phonetic language, any cluster of consonants can be pronounced in many ways, some of which will make sense and some of which will Read More >

5 11, 2009

Parashat Vayera

By ahsilver|2009-11-05T12:51:46-05:00November 5, 2009|

Every year we read the same parashiyot, in the same order, always finding something new. This year, my discovery came last Rosh HaShanah, when I reviewed this week’s parashah, Vayera.

We all know Parashat Vayera. Angels visit Abraham, Abraham argues with God, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters have interesting, incestuous relationships, Sarah has her long-awaited son, Sarah expels Hagar and Ishmael from the camp, and, well, let’s stop there.

As we all know, there are no vowels in the Torah. For the pronunciation of the words, we depend on the Masoretes, those people who about 1,000 years ago punctuated the Torah, set it to music, and told us how the words should be pronounced. Because there are no vowels in the Torah, and because Hebrew is a phonetic language, any cluster of consonants can be pronounced in many ways, some of which will make sense and some of which will Read More >

29 10, 2009

Parashat Lekh L’kah

By ahsilver|2009-10-29T07:41:36-04:00October 29, 2009|

At a recent teacher enhancement seminar at the Seattle Jewish Federation, the host asked us to consider this text from Parashat Lekh L’kha (Gen. 12:1-3):

Vayomer Hashem el Avram, lekh l’kha mei’artzekha umimolad’t’kha umibeit avikha el Ha’Aretz asher ar’eka. V’e’es’kha l’goi gadol va’avarekh’kha v’agad’lah sh’mekha, veh’yei b’rakhah. Va’avar’kha m’varakhekha um’kalelkha a’or, v’nivr’khu v’kha kol mish’p’hot ha’adamah.

Hashem said to Avram, go for yourself, from your land, and your birthplace, and your father’s house; to the Land which I will show you. I will make of you a great people, I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse the one who curses you; and all the families of the land will bless themselves through you.

The host asked us to work with hevrutah (study partners) and explore this text for 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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