Daring to Dream

Last updated on: December 2, 2022 at 1:18 pm By Hebrew College

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

Why Is It? Why This?!

Last updated on: November 22, 2022 at 12:59 pm By Hebrew College

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

Blessings in Winter

Last updated on: November 16, 2022 at 10:29 am By Hebrew College

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

Drawing out the Tender Side

Last updated on: November 7, 2022 at 11:05 am By Hebrew College

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

Journeying with Blessings

Last updated on: October 31, 2022 at 9:33 am By Hebrew College

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

A History of Sadness and Transformation in Parashat Noach

Last updated on: October 21, 2022 at 11:45 am By Hebrew College

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

The Best is Yet to Come

Last updated on: October 20, 2022 at 3:38 pm By Hebrew College

By Leah Carnow Parashat Bereshit (Genesis 1:1-6:8) “Bet is two / … Bet is second chances / … Bet is two sides (at least!) to every story…” To start the new Torah cycle, fourth-year rabbinical student Leah Carnow’s reflection on Parashat Bereshit (Genesis 1:1-6:8) takes the form of a creatively composed poem around ב (Bet), the second letter in the Hebrew alphabet. “We Begin again / Because we / Believe / We believe / It’s a real good bet.” Read the... Read more

Defining Enough

Last updated on: October 12, 2022 at 11:07 am By Hebrew College

By Rabbi Becky Silverstein Sukkot (Leviticus 22:26-23:44) The Fall 2021 issue of Yes! Magazine is the “The How Much is Enough? Issue.” I know this because it says so on the cover. A year after its arrival in the mail, this issue still sits at the top of my pile of unread magazines. The size of the pile ebbs and flows depending on any number of factors. In any case, this issue has stayed untouched longer than others. A few weeks ago, I... Read more

Memory Problems

Last updated on: October 4, 2022 at 9:11 am By Hebrew College

By Rev. Tom Reid Parashat Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52) Why did I choose to write on this particular parashah? As I read it again, I find myself struggling with several passages in this portion. Perhaps struggle is appropriate during the Ten Days of Teshuvah (Return, Remorse, and Renewal), this season of soul-searching (heshbon-nefesh), which calls the Jewish community to grapple with the fullness of life, including its challenges. And as a Presbyterian pastor, taking on Ha’azinu affords me the opportunity to do a mitzvah of sorts, by giving my... Read more

The Power of “With”

Last updated on: September 28, 2022 at 1:33 pm By Hebrew College

Parashat Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30) Let me set the scene for you. On a well-worn, hand-me-down couch in the basement of a church youth room in Alabama sits a 17-year-old girl, eating donuts amongst lifelong friends (a Sunday ritual), on the precipice of the biggest change of her life thus far: college. Raised in the heart of the Bible Belt, a sheltered but curious “PK” (pastor’s kid), she was certain about her devotion to her faith once she left home; and,... Read more