By Rabbi Or Rose This post is an updated version of the author’s 2010 essay by the same title published in the Huffington Post. “Blessed are You, YHWH our God, who performed miracles for our ancestors in days past, at this time.” What does it mean to light the Hanukkah candles? One response that I have found intriguing over the years comes from the early Hasidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (d. 1809). The Berditchever (as he is affectionately... Read more
By Rav Rachel Adelman Parashat Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23) Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him an ornamented tunic [ketonet passim] (Genesis 37:3 NJPS; alt. “a coat of many colors” KJV; “a long robe with sleeves” NRSV). The following poem is a modern midrash about Jacob’s gift of the “ornamented tunic,” aka the “amazing technicolor dreamcoat” [ketonet passim] to Joseph, his favorite son. Inspired by passages from the midrash Pirqei... Read more
By Rabbi Avi Killip Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43) Have you ever wished for a miracle? Was the miracle granted? Did you expect it to be granted? In Taanit 20b we learn from Rabbi Yannai: “A person should never stand in a place of danger and say: ‘A miracle will be performed for me!’” We can never be certain that God will show up to intervene and offer us protection in our moment of need. This is not how God interacts with our modern world.... Read more
By Rabbi Max Edwards Parashat Vayetze (Genesis 28:10-32:3) At the beginning of Parashat Vayetze, Jacob dreams a now-famous scene: He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And standing beside him was the Lord, who said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac: the ground on which you are lying I... Read more
Parashat Toledot (Genesis 25:19-28:9) Among the many crises that have been developing over the last several years, the United States is facing a raging mental health crisis, a crisis that is particularly concerning among children and teens. Three years into a global pandemic, it is no surprise that all of the uncertainty and the strings of disappointments, losses, and readjustments weigh heavily on people of all demographics. For some, including many young people, the seemingly ever-changing expectations, the pressures not to... Read more
Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18) After Sarah’s burial, the narrative of the Torah returns to Abraham. וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיהֹוָה בֵּרַךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and God had blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1). It seems a strange time for blessings. Abraham is bereft, in mourning for his life partner. Not only that, but Isaac, his son, has not yet married, and Abraham has no immediate prospect of continuity. Midrashic tellings note the moment of... Read more
Parashat Vayeira (Genesis 18:1-22:24) Time barrels on as the seasons change and the natural world starts to go underground for winter, at least here in Boston, where I am writing. The moon of Marcheshvan is reaching its fullness, but for many of us, the themes and melodies of the High Holidays are still faintly ringing in our ears. One such echo is the Thirteen Attributes of God: Adonai, Adonai, El rachum v’chanun… (Adonai, Adonai, God of compassion and grace…) The faith that inheres in... Read more
By Rabbi Frankie Sandmel Parashat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ׃ God said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” What a powerful encapsulation of what it is like to make massive change in one’s life! In speaking to Avram (later Avraham), God names him, where he came from, and where he is going. God paints a... Read more
By Rabbi Joey Glick Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32) The first time I walked into Dr. Lisa Geiger’s chiropractic office, I was greeted by a symphony of sound. With one large space that doubles as a waiting and treatment room, there was a delightful cacophony of babbling toddlers, crying babies, tired parents, 90s folk music and, above it all, Dr. Lisa giving over wisdom. An experienced healer and Dar Williams enthusiast, Dr. Lisa treats very young kids, their parents—and, in my case,... Read more
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Facing God and Ourselves
By Rabbi David Maayan Parashat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27) Parashat Vayigash takes its name from Yehudah’s act of “drawing close” to Yosef in order to pour out the remarkable speech that finally causes Yosef to reveal his identity. Yehudah recounts the series of events that have transpired since he and his brothers came to Egypt seeking food during the famine, particularly the demand that the Egyptian official (whom we know to be Yosef) made upon them to bring their younger brother Binyamin along... Read more