Stories We Tell: The Bird Catcher
Stories We Tell: Get Up and Go Early
Accepting Advice From Your Father-in-Law
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Yitro, is remarkable. Only six Torah portions (out of a total of 54) are named for one of the individuals advancing the drama within its text. ... And this portion is named for Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro (Yitro) — a non-Israelite, Midianite priest. In the portion, Yitro offers sage advice and Moses accepts it.
Stories We Tell: What it Takes to Get in
Jacob’s Vertical and Horizontal Encounters
As Parashat Vayeitzei begins Jacob is fleeing from his home in Beersheba. He’s afraid his brother, Esau, will make good on his threat to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41), because Jacob (with Rebecca’s guidance) tricked their father, Isaac into giving the blessing for the firstborn to Jacob.
The Power of Names and Naming
Elie Wiesel has written, "In Jewish history, a name has its own history and its own memory. It connects beings with their origins.
All I Need Is a Miracle
It was the winter of 1999 in Israel, and my sister had come to visit me while I lived there. We planned a trip to Masada and everyone told us that we should leave near sunrise in order to hike up at the coolest part of the day. Did we listen? No.
Sing, Sing a Song!
So, you know how there are tons of melodies for Adon Olam? You may never have thought about it before, but there are many out there. Yes, each congregation may default to one or another, but the words to Adon Olam can be fit into many modern tunes.
Everybody’s Working for the Weekend
One Monday night, I sat in a circle with my ninth and tenth grade students.1 We were in the middle of a unit on wellness and k'dushat haguf, "the holiness of our bodies." I asked them to give me an example of a way Judaism encourages us to take care of ourselves.