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15 12, 2011

Parashat Vayeshev

ahsilver2011-12-15T21:09:50-05:00

By Rabbi Andrea Myers

Years ago, I took a road trip to Cincinnati to do research at the archives of Hebrew Union College. It was my first time away from home since our daughter Ariella had been born four years before.

In preparation for my departure, my partner Lisa asked me whether I needed anything sent to the dry cleaners, and I asked her to send my pea coat so I would be warm in the cold Cincinnati spring. She was kind enough to do so, but busy enough that she did not check the pockets. We realized, too late, that my wallet was inside. We called the dry cleaners, who told us it was nowhere to be found. We were rabbinic enough to want to give the benefit of the doubt, and New Yorkers enough that we were skeptical. We went that night to the premises, and found the remains of my wallet Read More >

Parashat Vayeshevahsilver2011-12-15T21:09:50-05:00

7 12, 2011

Parashat Vayishlah

ahsilver2011-12-07T15:41:16-05:00

By Miriam Herscher

“I am Jacob. I am going home, and I am anxious and scared.

“I have been away for twenty years. I have not spoken to nor seen my brother or parents in all that time. We parted under horrendous circumstances. I cheated my brother, with the help of my mother, and stole his birthright blessing from our father. It should have been his. But he did actually say once that I could have it; one day he came home from hunting and wanted the food that I had cooked. In exchange for it I asked him to sell me his birthright, and he did.

“Now, I know my father is still alive, and I want to try to reconcile with my brother. But I am terrified of his anger. Maybe he still wants to kill me. Is reconciliation possible after all these years? Will he forgive me? Can there even be forgiveness Read More >

Parashat Vayishlahahsilver2011-12-07T15:41:16-05:00

24 11, 2011

Parashat Toldot

ahsilver2011-11-24T23:59:29-05:00

Don’t Forget the Lentils

By Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

What about the lentils?

“Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished. And Esau said to Jacob, ‘Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished’- which is why he was named Edom. Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ And Esau said, ‘I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?’ But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright” (Gen 25:29-34, New JPS translation).

We, along with the commentators, tend to focus on the people in this and other biblical stories, trying to gain insight into the meaning of the text and Read More >

Parashat Toldotahsilver2011-11-24T23:59:29-05:00

15 11, 2011

Parashat Hayyei Sarah

ahsilver2011-11-15T12:53:56-05:00

By Cantor Jaclyn Chernett

Traditionally, in Kol Nefesh, our little shul in London, this sedra marks the annual celebration for our Hevra Kadisha, when we study and have a meal together. The Hevra Kadisha it is, literally, a Sacred Society that, among other things, ritually prepares bodies of those who have died, for their final rest. Ironically, this year it coincides with Brian’s and my Golden Wedding anniversary and although my heart sank at the sobering thought of finding an analogy between our simha and burial, it is actually apposite! The stories in our sedra show the family of Abraham move from death (first that of Sarah) to marriage (of Isaac and Rebecca) to death (of Abraham and Ishmael). While on the surface these links seem rather shocking, they heighten awareness of how Jewish tradition helps us to try to understand the world and to live in alignment with our deepest values.

When Sarah Read More >

Parashat Hayyei Sarahahsilver2011-11-15T12:53:56-05:00

8 11, 2011

Parashat Vayeira

Rabbi Enid C. Lader2011-11-08T11:25:57-05:00

By Rabbi Enid Lader

“Adonai appeared to him in the terebinths of Mamre, while he was sitting in the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day” (Gen. 18:1). Through Rashi’s commentary on this verse, we learn that God’s appearance before Abraham was an act ofÂ bikkur holim – visiting the sick, and that Rabbi. Hama ben Hanina said, “It was the third day after his circumcision, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, came to inquire after him.” This is indeed the proof text for the mitzvah of visiting the sick, and there is much to learn from God’s example.

There is a time for sending a get well card… and there is a time for a personal visit. And this verse teaches us the importance of a personal visit. But not right away. The patient needs time to heal on his (or her) own. Moses Maimonides (Rambam) spells this Read More >

Parashat VayeiraRabbi Enid C. Lader2011-11-08T11:25:57-05:00

3 11, 2011

Parashat Lekh Lekha

ahsilver2011-11-03T12:05:19-04:00

By Simcha Raphael

I imagine it was a crystal clear desert night in Haran. Standing under a glittering band of stars adorning ancient Mesopotamian skies, Abram son of Terah suddenly heard a beckoning voice:

Abram! Go forth from your native land, from your birthplace, from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you… and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Gen. 12:1-3)

In Parashat Lekh Lekha, Abraham is called by G!d to sojourn to Canaan and in so doing, becomes the progenitor of the Jewish people and ultimately, the Abrahamic religions. Here we encounter the classical calling of the hero (see Joseph Campbell, Hero with A Thousand Faces). Responding to a divine calling, an individual embarks upon a journey into the unknown, following their destiny and becoming an agent for world transformation.

Lekh Read More >

Parashat Lekh Lekhaahsilver2011-11-03T12:05:19-04:00

25 10, 2011

Parashat Noah

ahsilver2011-10-25T10:35:42-04:00

By Rabbi Alan Abraham Kay

As I write this D’var Torah, “The falling leaves drift by my window, the autumn leaves of red and gold” and I hum the Frank Sinatra song and thank God for giving us daylight and nightlight and four seasons. I re-read the verse from Parashat Noah, “So long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22) and I smile in gratitude. God turned away from further destruction after The Flood and, in choosing life, gave Noah and his family and generations to follow the turning of day into night and into day and night again and the autumn leaves of red and gold. No more precious gift has been given to humankind than sunrise and sunset and the turning of one season into another.

I am living the second cycle of seasons since my metastatic lung Read More >

Parashat Noahahsilver2011-10-25T10:35:42-04:00

15 12, 2010

Parashat Vayehi

ahsilver2010-12-15T00:13:44-05:00

By Simcha Raphael

WithÂ Parashat Vayehi, the Book of Genesis reaches its grand finale. Jacob and his extended family are gathered in the land of Egypt, and first, the illustrious Patriarch himself dies; then, subsequently the complex,Â distinguishedÂ life of Joseph comes to an end.

What do we learn from these concluding chapters of Genesis that can offer us a relevant model for dealing more openly with dying, death and grief in our families and communities? Read More >

Parashat Vayehiahsilver2010-12-15T00:13:44-05:00

10 12, 2010

Parashat Vayigash

ahsilver2010-12-10T00:17:59-05:00

The Healing Power of Tears

By Rabbi Ziona Zelazo

CharlesÂ Dickens, in his comedy bookÂ Great Expectations wrote:Â “Heaven knows, we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.”Â I take crying as a given fact in my life as I cry for joy, for pain and out of fear.Â IÂ was taught that it is acceptable to cry if you are a little girl or even a mature woman.Â Unfortunately, some people, especially men, are often ashamed or afraid to cry because of the Western cultural norm which perceives crying as a sign of weakness. Boys are told, “Big boys don’t cry,” or, “Crying is for girls.” However, psychologists today reassure us that for both men and women, tears are a sign of courage, strength, and authenticity. Tears are the body’s release valve for stress sadness, grief, anxiety, and frustration.

It was no surprise, as I read last Read More >

Parashat Vayigashahsilver2010-12-10T00:17:59-05:00

22 11, 2010

Parashat Vayishlah

ahsilver2010-11-22T12:49:11-05:00

By Rabbi Bob Freedman

At the end of this week’s parashah, Vayishlah, we learn that Jacob came back to his home, the land where his fathers had lived (Genesis 31:3). Specifically, he returned to Beit-El, the place where he first encountered God, the birthplace of his spiritual existence. What else is “home” but our spiritual center? We may bathe, sleep, and eat in a house to which we acquire the right of possession, but our home is the place from which flows the source of our connection and wholeness.

Each of us finds our “home” in our own way. The three patriarchs, whose paths to being paradigmatic humans were very different, are our examples. Abraham found his home by going out from his origins to a brand new place. God gave Isaac the divine blessing when he re-opened the wells that his father had dug, metaphorically reclaiming wisdom and nurture that had been lost Read More >

Parashat Vayishlahahsilver2010-11-22T12:49:11-05:00

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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