Where Is Humanity?
This week’s Torah portion, Sh’mot, begins the well-known narrative of Israelite enslavement and redemption from Egyptian bondage.
Why So Many Plagues?
In the past few months, we have experienced many extraordinary catastrophes.
Self-Awareness Sets Us Free
“I’ve never been good with words,” he said.
“I wouldn't know what to say.
I wouldn’t know how to say it.
I wouldn’t even know who to say it to -
I’ve just never been good with words.”
Everyone Owns the Words of Torah
Learning, commenting, and reacting to our Torah’s teachings are a personal experience, or at least they should be. Like all books of the Torah, our relationship with Genesis grows deeper each year when we encounter it anew.
Counting Our Blessings and Sharing the Light
The story of Joseph is familiar to many who have never opened the
Parashat Vayechi is a Reminder to Keep Hope Alive
I find it hard to believe that we have already arrived at the last portion in the book of Genesis! By now, the matriarchs and patriarchs are like old friends: We’ve seen them celebrate and mourn, laugh and cry, hug, kiss, and wrestle.
Using Our “God-Sparks” to Reconcile Our Relationships
Walking and Standing
It is not obvious that the compilers of the Torah chose to finish the third book of the Torah with a set of blessings and curses. A similar section of blessings and curses, yet much longer, is found at the end of Deuteronomy, the fifth Torah book.
A Kinder, Gentler Nation
This week brings us Yom Y'rushalayim (May 8 / 28 Iyar), one of several Jewish holidays commemorating events of war in the modern State of Israel. This one recalls Israel's "recovery" of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967.
We’ve Got to Stop It
The sign read, "We've got to stop it," and under it a woman sat alone at a table in the grocery store parking lot. The sign also contained the words "domestic violence," so I walked over. She greeted me warmly, "I'm trying to put a face to it. To say it could happen to anyone.