The Laws Behind the Laws
Ask your average Jew-on-the street (well educated or not) for the five most important or famous texts of the Torah, and she will certainly include the Ten Commandments.
Words Not Spoken . . . Words Not Heard
Words are powerful. In Genesis, chapter one, God creates through words: “God said, ‘Let there be light!’—and there was light. . . . God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,’. . . . God now said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image,’ ” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 26).
Vayigash: And He Approached
We need to know that we are loved, that there is a place where we are accepted without condition, where we can come home. We need to know that we can trust our loved ones. But despite the sanctity of family, who has not at some time questioned the fidelity of our family's love?
The Challenge of Righteousness
The wording of the verse gives rise to this debate. The text states that “Noah was a righteous man,” but immediately follows with the phrase “in his generation, he was above reproach. . . ” All of us, including the ancient Rabbis, are left to wonder if Noah is exceptional or not, if his righteousness would be universally righteous or simply righteous in his time.
The Voice of Jacob and the Hands of Esau
Tol'dot is a parashah of stories. It begins by narrating the birth of Jacob and Esau and ends with the account of Jacob's deception and the patriarchal blessing by the old, blind Isaac. These are familial stories about parents and siblings.
Welcome to Questions
To the familiar "How odd of God to choose the Jews" we might well add, upon reading the story of Jacob/Israel, "But stranger still is Israel/It's odd indeed to be his seed/Part cheat, part mouse, yet we're his house/How come we're known as Jacob's own?"
Walking Together
Parents and children often live in separate worlds. No matter how close they may be emotionally, their experiences, friends, and values are generally quite distinct.