This week’s Torah portion, Vayeitzei, primarily covers the narrative of Jacob’s journey to Haran, his experiences there, and the beginnings of his family. The majority of this parsha is devoted to the concept of deception. Most of us know that Jacob tricked Esau into giving up his birthright and that Laban outwitted Jacob. In last Continue Reading »
This week’s parashah, Toldot, tells us of the birth of the twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, and how they become bitter rivals. It looks at first like a redux of Cain and Abel, a sobering tale of fratricide, and a prophecy that humanity is doomed to never-ending conflict. Even before they are born, the twins Continue Reading »
Last week, my colleague Rabbi Joanna Samuels, the Director of the JCC of Manhattan, urged her community to take a break from the stress and anxiety of these troubling times by accepting the gift of Shabbat. One way to do this, she suggested, is to take a break from social media and doom scrolling through Continue Reading »
Some have called it Israel’s 9/11. Some have called it a pogrom. Neither of these analogies is perfect, but they both are true. The mass slaughter of innocent Israeli children, women, and men was an act of pure evil, as was the taking of civilian hostages, numbering more than 200, including infants and children, the Continue Reading »
This week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, from the Book of Genesis, is translated as ‘Go Forth.’ This portion focuses on Abram and Sarai who are later renamed Abraham and Sarah by God. Highlights include Abram and Sarai, along with Abram’s nephew Lot, beginning their journey to the land promised to them by God; a famine which Continue Reading »
The deluge is coming. As in the days of Noah, there will be a flood whose purpose is to eradicate evil. Israel has no choice. Before October 7 — Simchat Torah 5784 — one could speculate about the atrocities that Hamas would commit if given the chance. Now we know with a certainty that they Continue Reading »
In his book, Why Religion Matters, Huston Smith, uses a powerful image to describe the importance of religion in human life. “Imagine yourself in a bungalow in North India,” writes Smith. “You are standing before a picture window that commands a breathtaking view of the Himalayan Mountains. What modernity has done, in effect, is to Continue Reading »
With this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, we can feel a rising pitch of urgency. Moses is coming to the end of his life and is delivering his final words to the children of Israel. So invested is he in assuring the continuity of his people’s mission that he is leaving no stone unturned to Continue Reading »
One of Elie Wiesel’s most important teachings is that “the opposite of good is not evil, it is indifference.” He knew this because he witnessed it. Having survived the Holocaust, he understood how the silent acquiescence of so called good people enabled the massacre of the six million, how passivity in the face of evil Continue Reading »
This week’s parashah, Shoftim, reads like a primer on the science of good government. And could it possibly come at a more critical time? Across the globe, issues of political power and governance are increasingly contentious and controversial. Populism and authoritarianism are on the rise in Europe and are threatening the very foundations of democracy Continue Reading »
