The Power of Our Dreams, Both Asleep and Awake
When Do We Know We’ve Completed the Struggle?
In Parashat Vayishlach, Jacob receives a new name that becomes the name of the Jewish people: Israel.
The Most Painful Parts of Joseph’s Story Can Teach Us about Ourselves
Soul-Making: Living in the Peaks, the Valleys, and Everything in Between
What Torah Can Teach Us about Overcoming Loneliness
The Greatest Threat to Civilization, as Taught by Torah
When reading Parashat Tol’dot each year, I am amazed how relevant these ancient stories remain today, including the last significant moment in Isaac’s life.
Letting Abraham's Example Guide Us, During Election Season and Beyond
The Tension Between Hubris and Humility
In its brief 40 verses, Parashat Nitzavim immediately presents us with tensions between confidence and condemnation, promise and punishment, and ultimately, between humility and hubris. Throughout the text of these two compact chapters—Deuteronomy 29 and 30—Moses consistently oscillates between inspiring the Israelites toward their future and forewarning them about their inherent (and perhaps inevitable) flaws.
The Dramatic Effects of Sound and Silence
In the story of Elijah, this classic text describes the prophet’s encounter with God: “... the Eternal was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound [kol d’mamah dakah]” (I Kings 19:11-12). The sound of silence—or close to it. The power of the soft whisper, the energy of the absence of sound. Jewish tradition, and the Torah specifically, uses many examples of the drama that can be achieved with sound,
Going Out and Coming In: Transitions of Leadership
In our High Holiday machzor, we read a poem entitled, “The Sacred Pilgrimage,” by Rabbi Alvin Fine: "Birth is a beginning and death a destination. But life is a journey ..." The familiar verses of this poem could easily be the underlying emotional narrative of Parashat Vayeilech. In this week’s portion, Moses is in the midst of this process; for in Parashat Vayeilech, Moses officially retires and begins to prepare for his death.