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27 11, 2008

Parashat Toldot

By Doug Alpert|2008-11-27T21:43:03-05:00November 27, 2008|

By Doug Alpert

How do we define greatness? And moreover, by what criteria do we establish those who we believe possess qualities of greatness as our leaders? I pose these questions as a means to understanding our patriarch-Yitzhak Avinu/Isaac. If one can suggest with a straight face that any one of our patriarchs is a forgotten patriarch, it would be Isaac.

From the beginning of this week’s parashah, Toldot, the Torah defines Isaac within the context of his father, Avraham. “Avraham was the father of Yitzhak.” (Bereshit 25:19) Rashi’s exegesis on this verse suggests that its inclusion in our Torah was to establish, in contravention to anyone who might be dubious in regard to Isaac’s lineage, that Isaac was really the progeny of Avraham and Sarah. And, to drive home the point, Rashi states that G-d shaped Isaac’s facial features to be similar to those of Avraham. Thus, lest there be any Read More >

12 11, 2008

Parashat Hayyei Sarah

By ahsilver|2008-11-12T09:24:43-05:00November 12, 2008|

By Molly Karp

Hayyei Sarah, while not the only parashah named for a person, is the only one named for a woman. It is not surprising that it is named for Sarah; what is surprising, however, is that this parashah seems not to be about Sarah Imeinu – Sarah Our Mother – at all! What really is going on here?

The first chapter of the parashah is about Abraham’s purchasing a burial cave for Sarah from Ephron the Hittite. Sarah is not an active character in this chapter; we know nothing about her death save that it is recorded directly following Abraham’s returning home alone from the near-sacrifice of Isaac, but that is the topic of another d’var Torah. The second chapter of the parashah, Chapter 24 is the longest chapter in B’reshit, and one of the central ones as well. Its placement tells us that it is a most important chapter. By Read More >

12 11, 2008

Parashat Vayera – Seeing God

By ahsilver|2008-11-12T09:03:46-05:00November 12, 2008|

By Laurie Levy

The verb reish-aleph-hey occurs three times in the first two verses of this week’s parashah. I think this points to a lesson about what it means to see – really see.

Last week we ended with Abraham circumcising himself and his household and so this week, when we read that Abraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent, we infer that he is recuperating from his recent surgery. Sitting there midday, God appears to him: “He lifted his eyes and, behold, he saw three men standing near him.” (Gen. 18:2) How is it that these strangers (who we later come to realize are angels of God)appear to him so suddenly in the middle of the desert?

The S’fat Emet, a 19th century Hasidic master, answers this question with a verse from Job, who, despite all the suffering he was experiencing in his body and on his skin, says: “In Read More >

6 11, 2008

Parashat Bâ€™reishit

By ahsilver|2008-11-06T14:04:27-05:00November 6, 2008|

To Begin at the Beginning . . .
By Hazzan Marcia Lane

I have an affinity for stationery stores. I love the smell of new paper. I am constantly buying new notebooks, trying to find the perfect form of paper, lines, binding, cover that will inspire me to greater heights of insight and literary brilliance. I am delighted by the blank page, by the endless possibilities of the absence of words. What to write? What to think? What to communicate? A love letter? A thank you note? A journal page? An invoice? Blank pages are magical.

Our parashah this week, B’reishit, is the blank page on which God writes. In fact, God enjoys the blank page so much that He writes not one but two stories of creation. In the first (Ch. 1:1 to 2:4), creation is described as a kind of song, a poem, a paean of creating. The language is ritualized and Read More >

6 11, 2008

Parashat Lekh Lekha

By ahsilver|2008-11-06T13:58:42-05:00November 6, 2008|

Famine in the Land of Canaan – A Test of Abraham
By Jaron Matlow

Our Sages, of blessed memory, stated that God tested Abram ten times to ensure that Abram truly was a righteous person. According to Midrash Tanhuma (Lekh Lekha 5) one of those tests was the famine in the Land of Canaan (Bereshit 12:10). Our midrash further points out that there had never previously been such a famine in the Land.

According to that midrash Abram’s response to this famine is to go down to Egypt, where there is food, despite the fact that he is aware of the character of Egyptians. On arrival in Egypt, Abram becomes aware of his mistake, and prays to God that he not be humiliated because of his plan. Sarai, upon realizing what is happening, shrieks out to God, “Master of the Universe, I used to know nothing. But since Abram said to me that You Read More >

29 10, 2008

Parashat Noah

By ahsilver|2008-10-29T12:07:17-04:00October 29, 2008|

Seeing Our Choices More Clearly
By Rabbi Regina L. Sandler-Phillips

“In the market, the blind cry out to the one-eyed as clear-sighted.” (Genesis Rabbah 30:9)

These are the words of Rabbi Yehudah in a rabbinic dispute concerning Genesis 6:9, which declares that “Noah was a righteous man, unblemished in his generations.” Rabbi Yehudah is among those who interpret this statement as veiled condemnation – in other words, Noah could only be considered righteous and unblemished when compared with the majority of his time. In a period of utter moral blindness, the “one-eyed” Noah was the greatest hope for both humanity and the earth.

Noah’s critics often focus on his apparent silence during his extended preparations for disaster – preparations which fulfill the letter of divine command, but do not reflect any active concern for those beyond his immediate family. To pursue this line of ethical reasoning, it might be helpful to have our own Read More >

10 12, 2007

Parashat Vayigash

By ahsilver|2007-12-10T06:50:20-05:00December 10, 2007|

By Susan Elkodsi

In Parashat Vayigash we witness the emotional reunion of Joseph and his brothers, and ultimately Joseph’s reunion with his father. Initially, it appears that the parashah’s focus is on Joseph, the man who saves his family during the time of great famine. But I believe that Judah is the ‘hero’ of the story, and with the benefit of hindsight, that history supports this. In time, Judah becomes one of the promised land’s mighty nations. We, the Jewish people, get our name from him as well. What makes Judah deserving of this honor and ultimate legacy? After all, Judah was the brother responsible for selling Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders, and presumably he who showed Jacob the blood-stained tunic, allowing him to jump to the conclusion that his favorite son had been eaten by a beast.

As we see, a lot can happen in 22 years. Consider that for all this Read More >

4 12, 2007

Parashat Miketz

By ahsilver|2007-12-04T13:04:16-05:00December 4, 2007|

By Sanford Olshansky

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.” (Gen 41:15, 16)

“Accordingly, let Pharaoh find a man of discernment and wisdom, and set him over the land of Egypt.” . . . And Pharaoh said to his courtiers, “Could we find another man like him, a man in whom is the spirit of God?” (Gen 41:33, 38)

These verses bracket the central dramatic moment of this parashah and one of the two great dramatic moments in the story of Joseph. (The other is his reconciliation with his brothers, which occurs in the next parashah, Vayigash.) Among other things, the scene in which he interprets Pharaoh’s dream Read More >

27 11, 2007

Parashat VaYeshev

By ahsilver|2007-11-27T06:47:34-05:00November 27, 2007|

Divine and Human ‘Nudging’ on the Path of One’s Destiny
By Jill Minkoff

Va-Yeshev is primarily the story of Joseph’s descent into Egypt. It is a necessary precursor to the birth of the Jewish people and the subsequent story of redemption and journey to freedom. It is a story of seemingly bad luck that eventually turns out for the best.

We are introduced to Joseph at age seventeen. He is his father Jacob’s favorite son. He reports to his father the wrongdoings of his brothers. And, he tells his family of dreams he has had, in which they become subservient to him. It is no wonder that Joseph’s brothers are jealous and angry. Although Jacob is keenly aware of this matter, he chooses to send Joseph on an errand to observe the brothers in the pasture and report back on how they and the flocks are doing. As Joseph journeys to find his brothers, a Read More >

20 11, 2007

Parashat Vayishlach

By ahsilver|2007-11-20T15:14:37-05:00November 20, 2007|

By Halina Rubinstein

25 Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.
26 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him.
27 Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
28 Said the other, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.”
29 Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human,and have prevailed.” [. . .]
32 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip.
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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