Hello from the heart of darkness… Ok, maybe I am exaggerating, but we are coming into the darkest week of the year, the week of the new moon closest to the winter solstice. And what do the children of Yisrael (Israel) do during the darkest week? They light candles! Now perhaps I should have saved this intro for the shabbat that falls during the week of Hanukah, but I couldn’t resist using it here. We’ll see how it fits into … Continue reading
Winter is coming. The days are getting short and cold and the nights, long and cold. It is the perfect time to go inside and work on oneself and face one’s demons. Funny I should say that because in the parsha (weekly Torah portion) we are reading this week, Yakov (Jacob) does just that. Before I satisfy your curiosity, however, I am going to give you a recap of the events in the parsha. If you recall from the end … Continue reading
The parsha (weekly Torah portion) for this week is about going out, at least if you go by the name of the parsha. The name of a parsha comes from the first significant word of the parsha, which in this case is a form of the verb, “To go out.” Our parsha starts with Yakov (Jacob) going out from Be’er Sheva to Haran where his uncle lives. On the way he has a dream of a ladder, with angels going … Continue reading
This week our Torah portion (parsha) is called Generations (Toldot in Hebrew) because the parsha starts out by saying that these are the generations of Yitzhak (Isaac) son of Abraham. It tells us of the difficult pregnancy Rivka (Rebecca) had and her giving berth to twins: Asov (Esau) and Yakov (Jacob). It quickly hints at the character of the two, and then tells the tale of how Yakov bought the birthright of the firstborn from a tired Asov for a … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portions) is called Chayei Sarah. The irony of the name is that the parsha begins with Sarah’s death. It then tells how Abraham bought the cave in which he buried her (and he himself is buried along with a few other folk) which is in Hebron. After Abraham buries Sarah, he makes his servant Eliezer swear an oath to find a wife for Yitzhak (Isaac) from his family back where Abraham was born. Eliezer (whose … Continue reading
Welcome to the wacky world of the Torah. This week we have lots of good action. The parsha (portion of the week) starts out with haShem (god) appearing to Abraham at the Trees of Reflection, where Abraham has been camping. God appears as 3 angels (the word for angel in Hebrew, mal’ach, means messenger) in the guise of men and Abraham begs them to stay for a foot washing and a meal. After they eat, the men/angels tell Abraham that … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Lech l’cha which in Hebrew is a command to go to yourself. The person giving the command is god and he is commanding Avram (who becomes Avraham later in this parsha). What else is in the parsha, you ask? A good question, and I am glad you asked. Let me share with you a quick summary: God commands Avram to go to himself and from his homeland and the house of his father … Continue reading
The weekly Torah portion (parsha) for this week was called Noach which means rest. Why was Noach given that name? Perhaps because he, and his entourage of family and animals, as well as the land itself, did nothing but rest during the year of the flood. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s see what was in the parsha. The parsha starts off by saying that Noach was a righteous and simple man in his generations, and that he … Continue reading
Hello and welcome to the end…or is it really the beginning? I’m not really sure. Last Shabbat was the Shabbat of Succot and we read a special parsha (Torah portion). Then on Thursday in Israel (or Friday if you are outside of Israel) we read the final parsha of the Torah and also the beginning of the first parsha. Then, this coming Shabbat we will read the first parsha in its entirety. The end result of all this is that … Continue reading
We are about to enter into Rosh haShanah, and shabbat comes in on its coat-tails. So, while we are getting ready for the Jewish new year, and while there is still time, I want to take a moment to look at this week’s parsha (the Torah portion read on shabbat). It is called haAzinu. HaAzinu means, “Your ears,” and is the first word of this week’s parsha. If you recall from the end of the previous parsha, Moshe (Moses) was … Continue reading