Tag: Vaera
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A Letter to Myself: Reflections on my father’s first Yahrzeit
In the twelve months since my father’s passing, our community has accompanied around twenty individuals on their final journeys. For a rabbi, walking with the bereaved is a constant, but this year the weight of it felt different. There was a strange, heavy resonance between my private study, where I sat with my own grief,…
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A Thought for Shabbat: The Mystery of God’s Name
Have you ever wondered about the profound mystery of calling someone’s name? Names are magical, aren’t they? They’re more than just sounds—they’re connections, bridges between hearts and souls. In our Jewish tradition, we find something wonderfully intriguing about God’s name. When Moses encounters the burning bush, he asks, “What shall I call You?” And God’s…
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What in God’s Name is God’s Name?
This is one of the more profound theological questions. To be able to name something or someone is to have a specific relationship to it or them, even a form of control. One can call out not just “Hey, You!” but “Hey, David!” or whatever, and expect some form of response. By using a name…
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Parashat Va’eira: Each person has a name.
Each person has a name.We each have a name given by God and given by our father and mother.We each have a name given by our stature and smile and given by our attire.… We each have a name given by the sea and given by our death. (Poem by Zelda, Mishkan T’filah, ed., Elyse…
