Category: Torah
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Have no fear – be Strong!
The Torah portion Va’yechi is the concluding parasha of the first book of Torah, B’reishit. It ends the narrative of the founding mothers and fathers of our folk and faith, and also concludes the complex and compelling story of Joseph. As such, it has many aspects of endings, including Jacob’s death-bed blessings given to his…
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Heaven and earth touched each other
This week’s Torah portion, Vayetzei, describes the first part of the journey of the biblical Jacob. Fleeing the wrath of his brother, whose birthright he purchased and whose blessing he stole, Jacob is “heading for the exits (Vayetzei).” As the now iconic story unfolds, Jacob stops for the night and has his famous dream of a ladder…
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Toledot: It is about seeing—and not seeing.
Our parasha reports how Isaac was tricked by Jacob, taking advantage of his father‘s blindness, into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. But was Isaac really blind? Was he really not able to notice that it was Jacob and not Esau who stood before him? History is sometimes made by averting our eyes. Many…
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Knowing that We Are Blessed
As Abraham reached the twilight of his years, our Torah portion informs us that “the Eternal had blessed Abraham in every way” (Genesis 24:1). The Rabbis were perplexed by such an assertion. No surprise! Do you know anyone on earth who is blessed with everything? Some people may give the impression that they “have everything.”…
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Keeping Shabbat the Progressive Way
Once a year, usually mid-November, a special Shabbat is announced. The so called Shabbat Project should inspire Jews around the globe to keep Shabbat. But what does it mean “to keep Shabbat“?Technically, the laws of Shabbat can seem draconian. There are thirty-nine official “dont‘s,” and they each have subcategories that add hundreds more. One cannot…
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How can I help?
Our Torah Portion “Noach” reports twice on the downfall of humanity in the eyes of God. In the response to the first, God sends the waters of the flood, which erases all life on earth and God’s answer to the second, the building of the Tower of Bavel, is the dispersion of all humanity to…
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A first thought for 5780 – Shabbat Shuvah
This Shabbat is Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat that falls between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Our tradition teaches that the gates of repentance are always open, and we are constantly reminded that it is never too late to change one’s ways and start anew. The haftarah for this Shabbat begins, “Shuvah Yisrael…” (Return, O Israel…).…
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A final thought for 5779
For the last Shabbat in 5779, our Torah comes with one of the readings I love most in the entire year. In parashat Nitzavim we find the following directive: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. You shall choose life.”But, what does it mean to choose life? It’s not…
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Indifference to our world is intolerable, unethical and it breaches our morality
Chaverim,In this week’s column I’d like to share with you an excerpt from my sermon I delivered last Friday. The sermon was about the powerful dictum of Parashat KiTeitzei, wich asks us not to remain indifferent — “Lo tuchal le’hitalem“.Lo tuchal le’hitalem – you shall not remain indifferent – it is an in-your-face moral and…
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Parashat Eikev: Cut away the foreskin of your hearts
Chaverim, See, the heavens and the heaven’s heavens belong to Adonai your God, the earth and everything on it. Yet Adonai fell in love with your ancestors and God chose you, their descendants, from all peoples, just as today. So, cut away the foreskin of your hearts and stiffen your necks no more. (Parashat Eikev,…
