- 5784, Bereshit, Bilhah, Genesis, Hellenistic Judaism, Jacob, Laban, Leah, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Philo, Rachel, Sarah, Stones, Tribe, Vayetzei, Zilpah
Setting up Stones
Last week I listened to the entirety of Parashat Vayetzei, leyned from the bima of the oldest shul building in the U.S., Touro Synagogue. (I’ll dedicate a post soon to my first experience…
-
- 5784, Abraham, Bereshit, Chayyei Sarah, Generations, Genesis, Hagar, History, Inheritance, Keturah, Rabbis, Sarah, Secondary Wives, Stories
A Worthwhile Pursuit
Sarah lived…and died, among other wives. Last week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, includes Keturah’s introduction. There are so many sources I need to explore in depth; Keturah is not someone about whom I have much…
- Abimelech, Akedah, Bereshit, Circumcision, Genesis, Hagar, Isaac, Ishmael, Lot, Love, Mountain, Parsha, Questions, Sarah, Sodom, Vayera
Favoritism & Erasure
Only four parshiyot in this week, we reach Vayera – following a journey of the promised birth of Sarah’s son by blood (since, technically, Ishmael was Sarah’s son through her שפחה, “maidservant,” Hagar)…
- 5784, Bereshit, Genesis, Haftorah, Hope, Isaiah, Israel, Lekh Lekha, Palestine, Parsha, Strength, War
Can We Rest From Weariness?
The last three weeks feel interminable, moving like a dense fog and whirling us around all at once. News of deaths, illness, injuries, human suffering and crises, hostages held during this entire span…
- 5784, Bereshit, Captives, Collective, Evaporation, Flood, Freedom, Genesis, Israel, Noach, Noah, Palestine, Parsha, Peace, Prayer, Shalom, Wholeness
Waiting for Evaporation
There are times that feel like a deluge – of information, emotions, tasks, and other things over which we cannot control. I found some encouragement in this current flood of pain, loss, confusion,…
-
תהו ובהו
For a week where words fail us…I wanted to reflect on the bookends of this parsha that speak to our despair and devastation. בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ When G!d began…
-
Unraveling
Three days in, and I don’t have any words to offer that can give voice to the scale of death and destruction happening in Israel/Palestine. This makes sense – the actions defy reason,…
- 5783, 5784, Bereshit, Brooklyn, Creativity, Deuteronomy, Devarim, Flood, Genesis, High Holidays, Moses, Parsha, Pharaoh, Rain, Repentance, Rosh Hoshannah, Simchat Torah, Sukkot, Torah, Yom Kippur
Brooklyn’s River of Joy, Sorrow, & Everything in Between
This season of the year’s turning, I’ve reflected a lot on the changes during 5783 and how to step forward into 5784. Through the contemplative space provided by Malkhut during Rosh Hashanah and…
- 5783, 5784, Brooklyn, Chevrutah, Friends, High Holidays, Lifelong Learning, Music, New Year, New York, Relationship, Rosh Hoshannah, Talmud, YIVO
I’ll Stop the World & Melt With You…
A gut, gebentsht, zis, umbagrayflekh yor!! In the next few days, I hope to get into a few topics more deeply (like Hagar, sharing about my Yom Kippur learning session that will incorporate…