When Moshe approaches Pharaoh, he must feel a sea of emotions. He returns to the house that banished him, to those who oppressed his people for hundreds of years. It would be understandable if Moshe dreamt of revenge–if not for himself, then for his enslaved people. But Moshe brings neither his personal interests nor his […]
“Take My people, the Children of Israel, out from Egypt.” That is the order that Moses receives from God at the burning bush. To be the sole leader, the liberator. Who would pass up such an honor? And yet Moses refuses. He says to God: “Who am I that I should go?” And what happens […]
Jacob’s blessings, instructions and prophecies to his children and King David’s instructions to Solomon before he dies (this week’s Haftarah) feels extra poignant to me this year in which both my parents passed. It has led me to think … If I were to create my own Pirke Avot, with advice that I inherited from […]
At the beginning of this week’s parashah (Vayyigash), Joseph and his brothers recall the arguments and tensions between them, and express remorse for the suffering they’d caused their aged father, now 130 years old. In their moments of reconciliation, we witness their profound emotions and the responsibility that they come to own. Joseph implores his […]
The hour is late, very late. A time of bloodshed, and existential angst. A solution to the conflict appears to be further away than ever. Individuals and peoples all have their own interests at heart. We inhabit our trauma, and they theirs. How is one to find any hope in such a reality? The evil […]
Being an Israeli Jew in this moment in time means praying prayers that are thousands of years old, which sound as if they were composed just yesterday. Modeh ani – I thank you God, that I am here, even as I recognize that many of us are no longer here, and can no longer thank […]
This is Our God, “Ein Od”, “There is Nothing Else.” We pray these words in the “Aleinu” prayer in which we declare our loyalty to “Ein Od.” “Efes Zulato- There is nothing but.” We are part of the Holy One, and as a part of God, we must always promote the Truth and repair the […]
Parashat Vayyera ends with the story of the ‘Akedah, the Binding of Isaac, in which—according to the midrash Yalkut Shim‘oni—Avraham fights against the order he had been given and refuses to bind his son for sacrifice, until the Holy One arranges an alternative sacrifice for Avraham to offer up. At that point, Parashat Ḥayyei Sarah […]
Unlike Abraham, who demonstrated initiative, Noah was passive. Noah indeed did as the Eternal commanded him, but no more than that—except for one thing: “And Noah built an altar to YHWH… and he offered up burnt offerings on the altar.” What sacrifice did he offer? Perhaps it was a sin offering, or perhaps a […]
“And YHWH said to Avram, ‘Go forth …!’” Thus begins one of our foundational stories. Where is he to go? To what place? To what country? In that first revelation God asks Avraham to give up everything he had known, everything that was familiar. His home, his household, his extended family. To let go of […]