Bereishit (Genesis)

Bereshit (Genesis)

SHORT ESSAY: Gifts From Our Parents (Parashat Vayechi)

The two parshiyyot in the book of Breishit whose topic is death are both called by names that indicate life: Hayei Sarah, in which Sarah, Avraham and Ishmael die, and this week’s parsha, Vayehi, in which Yaakov dies. At the very moment that we acknowledge that these ancestors died, we also proclaim something about their lives, something […]

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SHORT ESSAY: On Seeking Brotherhood (Parashat Vayeshev)

Et Ahai Anokhi Mevakesh. “It is my brothers that I am seeking,” says Yosef to the mysterious “man” who helps him along his way when he is sent out by his father to check on his brothers. This statement seems a deep truth about the Yosef story as a whole. The seeking of brotherhood drives

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SHORT ESSAY: Glimpses of fullness (Parashat Vayetze)

Holding one of my children and stroking her hair, listening to her breathing, I feel a wave of gratitude wash over me. We are both awake and very still. I feel full, fuller than I thought possible. There is nothing more I could want in this world than this child. Thank you, God, for this

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SHORT ESSAY: Hope at the Bottom of the Pit (Parashat Vayeshev)

How quickly and how far does the family of Yaakov descend in this parsha! Hatred festers unchecked among the brothers, and turns to violence against Yosef who is thrown down into a pit and sold “down” to Egypt as a slave. The Torah draws a parallel between this descent of Yosef’s (hurad) and that of

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SHORT ESSAY: On the Accompaniment of Angels (Parashat Vayetze)

This week’s parsha is framed by angels. At its start, as Yaakov leaves home, running away from his angry brother, he lies down and dreams of angels going up and down a ladder. The story then unfolds about his adventures away from home, in Haran — his years of work for Lavan, his marriages and

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SHORT ESSAY: On Protection and Connection (Parashat Vayechi)

On his death-bed, Yaakov gives the following blessing to his grandchildren, Menasheh and Efraim: The God before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzhak walked,The God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day,The Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—–Bless the lads [Hebrew, ne’arim].In them may my name be recalled,And the names of my

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SHORT ESSAY: Esav’s Cries (Parashat Toldot)

Vayitzak tze’akah gedolah umarah ad me’od. “He cried out an exceedingly great and bitter cry (Gen 27:34).” This is the Torah’s description of Esav’s reaction to the news that his brother Yaakov had stolen his blessing. We can rationalize Yaakov’s actions. He had in fact bartered for the first-born rights earlier in the parsha so

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SHORT ESSAY: Yitzhak As the Good Husband (Parashat Toldot)

Avraham had many admirable characteristics, but he was not always the most attentive husband. His son, Yitzhak, on the other hand, now he was a good husband. Yitzhak’s response to Rivkah’s barrenness was quite different from Avraham’s response to Sarah’s. Yitzhak prays for her. What a novel concept! Avraham spends a parsha and a half waiting

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