WUPJ Library

This week, in our annual Torah reading cycle, we open the second book of the Torah, Exodus. Genesis has narrated our coming into being as an identifiable Jewish people. From the emergence of life as we know it, to the parents of all humanity, to questions about how we might behave better in society, to Abraham who leaves all he knows to begin afresh.

This week’s parasha illustrates a paradigm of human excellence at the time of illness and death. Joseph gave his father the most precious gift he could. He did not allow his father to die alone.

For the last eight months I have felt as though I have been frozen in place as though paralyzed not only by fear of a global pandemic, but also by the simple limitations of what I am able to do. Have you ever been afraid to go forward or back?  Afraid to change your focus?  What about unsure of your footing? It has happened to me. 

Rabbi Danny Burkeman | Temple Shir Tikva, Massachusetts, USA When I was at school, I remember that the collecting of football (soccer) stickers was very popular amongst us boys. We would buy packets of stickers, affixing them in an album, trying to complete teams and eventually fill in all the blanks. At school during break […]

Tamar’s story of empowerment and resilience is tucked away in Parshat Vayeshev, and could easily be overshadowed by Joseph’s dramatic journey from favored son to forgotten prisoner. In fact, even within her narrative, Tamar’s bravery is subtle, and requires us to pay close attention.

Is there anything more agonizing than a child pleading to their parent for a blessing—knowing that that blessing is gone? But, was the blessing gone? How can it be that blessings are zero-sum, that giving a prized blessing to one son means it is not available to the other?

Rabbi Michael Zedek | Emanuel Congregation, Chicago, USA This week’s Torah portion is rich in familial details and challenges, yet it begins with a man on the run, a person alone and uncertain what will become of him. So it is that the Patriarch Jacob comes upon a certain place, gathers stones of the place, […]

Rabbi Brad Bloom | Congregation Beth Yam, South Carolina, USA Parashat Toldot portrays a family in distress and a reminder about how families who do not communicate with each other will face a severing of relationships that oftentimes can never be healed.  Just think about the dynamics of this week’s Torah portion. It leads us […]

Rabbi Uri Lam | Congregation Beth-El, São Paulo, Brazil And the Lord said to Abram: “Go forth from your land and your birthplace and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) And Abraham said to his servant (…): “To my land and to my birthplace you shall go, and […]

Rabbi Dr. Rena Arshinoff, PhD | Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Canada Recent world events and the covid-19 pandemic can leave little for us to laugh at. In fact, we might even feel guilty if we laugh these days. A few weeks ago, I met with a colleague of mine in my office. During […]

Rabbi Jeremy R. Weisblatt | Temple Ohav Shalom, Pennsylvania, USA It has always surprised me about Abraham (Abram at this point in the Torah) that he hasn’t learned his lesson about conflict. Abraham has just left Egypt and Pharaoh behind, having nearly created an enemy through his deceit that was caused by his fear of […]

The Divine One is no ordinary parent. After creating the earth and all the beings within it and seeing what a mess that humans can make of it, God makes an amazing and brilliant parental statement: “I will clean up your mess only once. Creation is a miracle and a gift to you. Whether you make the best or the worst of it, the consequences and responsibility are yours.”