Tag: Torah sparks by Rabbi Schell
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Hanukkah
Stories have great power. We tell stories about ourselves and about our communities because they give our lives meaning, and they help us navigate between the past and the future. We use stories to help us make sense of the world and our place in it. Not far behind the seemingly innocent plots of many…
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Vayeishev
Genesis 39:1-40:23 (Plaut p 252; Hertz p 147. )Haftarah Amos 2:6-3:8. (Plaut p 263; Hertz p 152)The parashah tells the stories of how Jacob’s other sons sold Joseph into captivity in Egypt, of how Judah wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar and discovered his transgression, and how Joseph served Potiphar and was imprisoned when falsely accused of…
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Vayera
Genesis 21:1-22:24 (Plaut p.132; Hertz p.71)Haftarah Second Kings 4:1-37 (Plaut p.149; Hertz p.76)Parashat Vayera includes the well-known report of Abraham’s plea to God to save the lives of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. While the effort that Abraham is prepared to invest in order to save these two wicked cities may be considered admirable,…
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Noach
Genesis 11:1-32 (Plaut p.69; Hertz p.38)Haftarah Noach Isaiah 54:1-55:5 (Plaut p.85; Hertz p.41)Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Isaiah 66:1-13, 23 (Plaut p. 1492; Hertz p.944)Parashat Noach tells the story of God’s decision to destroy the earth with a flood because of the corruption and wickedness found in the world. Only Noach – the only righteous man on…
