WUPJ Library

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild lives in Berlin and is Rabbi of congregation ‘ Or Chadasch ‘ in Vienna, Austria. Unasked Questions The two most important types of questions in the Torah are those which are never answered, and those which are never asked. There are many nuggets and many such questions hidden […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Melanie Aron, Congregation Shir Hadash , Los Gatos, California Lifting the Burden of Unforgiven Pain Anachronistically, I sometimes imagine Joseph in therapy, deciding that his family is too toxic and that he is better off not being in touch with them. After all we have to wonder how the man, who is […]

The Peace of Reconciliation By Rabbi Natan Landman, author of Make It Short, Rabbi: Brief Jewish Lessons from Scripture and Take Words with You: Sermons and Addresses of a Lifetime “And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; only then were his brothers able to talk to him” (Genesis 45:5) The climax of […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Meir Azari, Senior Rabbi and Executive Director, The Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism , Tel Aviv This week’s Torah portion opens with one of the most moving and emotionally charged events in Jewish historical memory. For us, as outside spectators, it is clear that in the meeting between Joseph – the Vizier […]

By: Rabbi Edgar Nof, Haifa, Israel Recent Issues A Renewed Approach of Courage and Peace Vayigash is the eleventh and penultimate Torah portion in the book of Genesis. At the beginning and end of the story we read about two major encounters: the first one between Joseph and Judah, a meeting between two brothers; and […]

By: Rabbi Edgar Nof, Or Hadash , Haifa Recent Issues Time for a New Approach to Understanding Our Torah portion opens with Judah’s initiatives when he “approaches” Joseph: “ Vayigash elav Yehudah ” (Genesis 44:18). There are the early signs of a possible solution in the powerful dispute between Joseph and his brothers. Further along the […]

By: Rabbi Katalin Kelemen, founding member and spiritual leader of Sim Shalom , Hungary (Sim Shalom is the first post-war Progressive Hungarian Jewish Congregation) “Joseph Reveals Himself: How to Deal With Shame” “ Ha’eir eineinu b’toratecha … Let our eyes see the light of Your teaching and our hearts embrace Your commands .Give us integrity […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi James M. Bennett, Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shaare Emeth , St. Louis, Missouri, USA Dream and Act This week of Chanukah recalls the potential of dreams, when we retell the ancient story of our ancestors’ struggle for religious freedom and self-determination, bejeweled as it has become with the creativity of our […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, Religious Union for Progressive Judaism in the Republic of Belarus; Rabbi of the Sandra Breslauer “Beit Simcha” Center in Minsk. Miracles of our Holiday, our Chapter and our Life Miracles of our Holiday, our Chapter and our Life It may seem that for Hanukkah one should study less than […]

( For Spanish text, please click here ) By: Rabbi Pablo Berman, Comunidade Israelita do Parana , Curitiba, Brazil Osnat Bat Potifera: An Unknown Woman Yalkut Shimoni , a compendium of the ancient Midrashim (collected circa 12th century), tells us that: “ Yesh Nashim Giyorot Chasidot ”, there were pious – and I would add, […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs , President, World Union for Progressive Judaism While I was preparing for my formal installation as President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism at the URJ biennial last week, I draw great inspiration from the teachings of this week’s Torah portion – Miketz. When I study or […]

By: Rabbi Tirzah Ben David, Congregation Shir HaTzafon , Copenhagen, Denmark “The Price of Survival” It is ironic, or rather, fitting, that this particular portion of the Joseph story should fall during Chanukah, as it would be hard to find two more disparate examples of how our ancestors have responded to the ‘outside’ world during […]