Parashat Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) By Rabbi Tyler Dratch Two weeks before Pesach this year, those living in the Eastern United States will be able to look up into the sky and witness a total solar eclipse. Tens of thousands of Americans, known as eclipse-chasers, or by the scientific term, umbraphiles, will travel to the centerline of the eclipse to experience a few moments of complete darkness. This is an experience that they describe as full of deep mystery and spirituality.... Read more
Parashat Vaera (Exodus 6:2-9:35) By Rabbi Jordan Braunig Last week, while discussing something that had little to do with human anatomy, my middle child mentioned that the human heart is only the size of a fist. I am used to getting odd facts from my kids, but somehow this random piece of information stuck with me. All through the week, I imagined a fist of flesh within my chest. When I was walking up the hill toward our house, when... Read more
Parashat Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) By Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman In the middle of my house, hanging between my living and dining rooms, is a blue lycra therapy swing. When the world overwhelms me, when my body is jittery, when my eyes ache with the slightest light and my ears from the slightest sound, I fold my body into this swing. It curls up and around me, like a hug from all sides. I close my eyes. I wrap my arms... Read more
Parashat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27) By Naomi Gurt Lind These past few parashiot, we have been deeply engaged with Joseph, that maddening, inspiring, outsized personality whose story looms large over both Genesis and Exodus and yet who remains nameless in our liturgy. That in itself is curious, that he gets four parashiot (maybe four and a half) and yet not a word in our daily prayers. Who is this fascinating and difficult character? Joseph has a rich and complicated emotional life... Read more
By Rabbi Matthew Ponak Parashat Miketz (Genesis 41:1-44:17) What a gift it would be to see into the future! And yet, in reality, most of us are barely able to gain clarity on what is happening right now. This human life is so precious. Gathering around the menorah with loved ones this time of year is one way we can really feel it. The glow of the Hanukkah candles reminds us of the light that is present even in the darkness... Read more
Parashat Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23) By Rabbi Avi Killip We are still in mourning. In the days after Oct 7th, the Jewish people were in shock. That shock slowly twisted itself into grief over the first few weeks. As the thirty day mark approached, Jewish leaders began to question how and whether to mark the occasion as an end to shloshim. In traditional Jewish mourning, when a month has passed after a death, we begin to ease ourselves out of the... Read more
By Chaim Spaulding, Hebrew College Rabbinical Student Parashat Vayetze (Genesis 28:10–32:3) Last winter, I went to my grandfather’s funeral, and afterwards, my living family and I took a trip to Death Valley. Grieving my grandfather, I felt keenly aware of my own mortality and my loved ones’ mortality. The magnificence of Death Valley only exists because of the instability of tectonic plates in motion over the course of millions of years. Standing on the floor of the valley, with rain... Read more
Parashat Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9) By Naomi Gurt Lind Growing up, there was a time when one of my siblings received a gift I really wished had been mine. (It was a snow globe, if you must know.) I very nicely asked if I could have a turn with it and as soon as it was in my hand, I threw it across the room. I only meant to show how upset I was, but of course the laws of physics had... Read more
By Rabbi Jim Morgan RS ‘08 Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18) At Centre Communities of Brookline, an independent housing facility in Massachusetts where I serve as Community Rabbi and Chaplain, I have the privilege of working with a surprising number of very old people. By “very old,” I mean folks in their nineties or older, including one person who recently turned 106. Among the questions that come up in my conversations with these residents is why they are still alive:... Read more
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Our Spiritual Legacy: Torah, Lovingkindness, Struggle, Uncertainty
By Rabbi Becky Silverstein Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43) Lately, I’ve been thinking about the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” I find myself wondering: How many baskets should you have? Will you be carrying the eggs or storing them? Are these real eggs and baskets or metaphorical ones? And in any event, what is your goal? When does it make sense to heed this wisdom and separate our eggs, and when might we need to put all... Read more