11 11, 2010

Parashat VaYetzei

ahsilver2010-11-11T18:11:48-05:00

By Sanford OlshanskyÂ

For over a year I’ve played “Stump the Rabbi” with the Hebrew School students at the temple where I work. On some of my classroom visits they have an opportunity to ask me the toughest Jewish questions they can think of. Students who ask me a question that I can’t answer get a prize. Most questions lead to meaningful discussions. One of the best this year was “Why doesn’t God show God’s self to us?” I gave the students a number of answers, suggesting that two questions behind this question might be “How do we know that God really exists?” and, if God exists, “Where can we find God?”

The beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayeitzei talks about how our ancestor Jacob, from whom we get the name Israel, found God. Many people today doubt the existence Read More >

Parashat VaYetzeiahsilver2010-11-11T18:11:48-05:00

4 11, 2010

Parashat Toldot

Rabbi Isaac Mann2010-11-04T11:57:27-04:00

By Rabbi Isaac Mann

Of the three Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, we know the least about Yitzhak (Isaac), around whom this week s Torah portion is centered. Unlike his father or his son, the Torah tells us precious little about Yitzhak s life or his encounters with others. Even where we have a somewhat lengthy story regarding Yitzhak s blessings of his sons, Yaakov and Eisav (Esau), the emphasis seems to be more on Yaakov and the manner in which he received the blessing than it is on his father Yitzhak.

Despite the dearth of incidents to work with, one thing is clear from what the Torah does tell us of Yitzhak, and that is that he had a communication problem. Whatever the reason may be, Yitzhak did not do a great job communicating with his family or with those around him. Regarding the latter, we only have Read More >

Parashat ToldotRabbi Isaac Mann2010-11-04T11:57:27-04:00

13 10, 2010

Parashat Lekh Lekha

ahsilver2010-10-13T18:46:05-04:00

By Rabbi Alan Abraham Kay

On Wednesday, June 23^rd, two days before my final service as rabbi of Temple Beth Emeth of Mount Sinai, I was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. As my primary care physician gave me the news, I held my telephone in my left hand and ran the fingers of my right hand fiercely through my hair and asked myself, “What do I do now?” I had a choice. I could collapse in fear and shake with anger and crawl into a dark hole. But I chose instead to answer myself with, “Go forward.” I could not return to the life I led before my doctor’s call; I could only go forward to the life that lay ahead. I knew I would not go forward alone. I would have my wife and daughters and their families, my Read More >

Parashat Lekh Lekhaahsilver2010-10-13T18:46:05-04:00

7 10, 2010

Parashat Noah

Rabbi Heidi Hoover2010-10-07T16:26:13-04:00

In this week’s Torah portion, God, having concluded that Humanity 1.0 has not worked out at all, decides to start over again. God chooses the most righteous man, Noah. Our rabbis disagree on whether Noah was not particularly righteous, just more so than everyone else at the time, or whether Noah would have been considered righteous no matter what his generation. Either way, Noah and his family are chosen to be the humans that will repopulate the world. God causes there to be a great flood that covers the whole world, killing every human and animal that lives on land, so that only Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark with them survive.

Upon emerging from the ark, Noah builds an altar and makes an offering to God.Â God “inhale[s] the soothing fragrance” (Gen. 8:21, translation from Read More >

Parashat NoahRabbi Heidi Hoover2010-10-07T16:26:13-04:00

28 09, 2010

Parashat Bereshit

ahsilver2010-09-28T19:03:33-04:00

SevenÂ Principles of a BiblicalÂ Environmental Ethic

While many people delight in the high drama of the first stories of the Bible in this weeks’ parashah, we can also derive a profound and far-reachingÂ environmental ethic from these stories – and in particular from Genesis 1.Â Outlined below are 7 principles of an environmental ethic found embedded in our first creation story.

1. Integrity of all living things

Everything that is created-light; the sky and water; earth, grasses and fruit trees; sun and stars; days and years; fish, sea monsters and birds; crawly creatures, wild animals and men and women-is called “good.” Each has integrity and value by virtue of its very existence, and each owes its existence to God.Â We human beings are not called to assign value to the creatures-this is God’s job, and herein lies the sacred value of Read More >

Parashat Bereshitahsilver2010-09-28T19:03:33-04:00

29 12, 2009

Parashat Vayehi

ahsilver2009-12-29T21:06:35-05:00

By Rabbi Michael G. Kohn

As we look at this parashah, I would like us to think about the message the Torah is giving us as parents. I have always had a difficult time with this parashah, first, because it focuses on the death of the last of our patriarchs. The description of Jacob’s “family” – in reality, his sons – gathered at his bedside is one familiar to most, if not all of us. At the death of my father of blessed memory almost 17 years ago, the scene played out almost as described in the Torah. First, my father spoke with two of his grandsons, as did Jacob, before speaking with his children. Then, he spoke with each of his children individually, though many of us were in the room together with him.

Which brings me to my second difficulty with this parashah. I am a parent and a grandparent and I Read More >

Parashat Vayehiahsilver2009-12-29T21:06:35-05:00

23 12, 2009

Parashat Vayigash

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD2009-12-23T19:31:46-05:00

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 >

Parashat VayigashRabbi Jill Hammer, PhD2009-12-23T19:31:46-05:00

17 12, 2009

Parashat Miketz

jackielebwohl2009-12-17T21:08:16-05:00

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 >

Parashat Miketzjackielebwohl2009-12-17T21:08:16-05:00

11 12, 2009

Parashat VaYeishev

ahsilver2009-12-11T09:06:05-05:00

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 >

Parashat VaYeishevahsilver2009-12-11T09:06:05-05:00

2 12, 2009

Parashat Vayishlah

ahsilver2009-12-02T07:42:17-05:00

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 >

Parashat Vayishlahahsilver2009-12-02T07:42:17-05:00

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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