Rabbi Neal I Borovitz | Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Avodat Shalom, New Jersey, USA “VaYomer Adonai el Moshe Bo el Paroh” is the first clause of the opening verse of this week’s Parsha. Most English Bibles, based upon both Jewish and Christian scholarship, translate   “Bo el Paroh “as a Divine command to Moses to: Go to […]

The Torah portion, Va’era, presents a profound paradigm shift, the revelation of a divine name/attribute heretofore unknown, even to our Patriarchs and Matriarchs.

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 […]