Category Rabbinic Thoughts

To behold the graciousness of the Eternal

אחת שאלתי מאת־יהוה אותה אבקש שבתי בבית־יהוה כל־ימי חיי לחזות בנעם־יהוה ולבקר בהיכלו׃ One thing I ask from the Eternal, One thing I desire: That I may dwell in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, To…

Shabbat Shekalim

Shabbat Shekalim (“Sabbath [of] shekels”) takes place on the Shabbat before the 1st of the Hebrew calendar month of Adar, and is one of the four 4 special Shabbatot surrounding Purim and Passover to help us prepare physically and spiritually…

Parashat Sh’mot

A few weeks ago, the film Exodus – Kings and Gods was launched and, in anticipation of the upcoming Torah readings about the liberation of the Israelites from slavery, I decided to watch the movie. I wanted to see how…

Vayechi

Year 3 Genesis 49:27-50:26 (Plaut p 313; Hertz p 187) Haftarah I Kings 2:1-12 (Plaut p 323; Hertyz p 191) Jacob’s final blessing to his children and grandchildren precedes demand that he be buried in the ancestral grave in Hebron…

Vayiggash

Year 3 Genesis 46:28-47:27 (Plaut p 293; Hertz p 174) Haftarah Ezekiel 37:15-28 (Plaut p 302; Hertz p 178) The great re-union of Joseph and his aged father Jacob/Israel lead to a welcome for all of Bet Yisraeil—the House of…