Bereshit
- 5784, Abraham, Bereshit, Bilhah, Egypt, Genesis, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Keturah, Leah, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Rachel, Rebekah, Sarah, Vayechi, Zilpah
Egypt in the End
The final parsha of Bereshit/Genesis, Vayechi, comes with an ending of what we have come to know as the originating line of Jewish/Israelite heritage, marked traditionally by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – with the…
- 5784, Benjamin, Bereshit, Dreams, Egypt, Family, Famine, Genesis, Goshen, Jacob, Joseph, Parsha, Pesach, Slavery, Vayigash
Goshen-ward
We move from dreaming in the last parsha to the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream to have his family together again in Parashat Vayigash. At least – this seems to be a narrative juxtaposition…
- 5784, Adrienne Cooper, Bereshit, Collaboration, Collective, Creativity, Dreaming in Yiddish, Dreams, Genesis, Interpretation, Joseph, Kohenet, Miketz, Parsha, Pharaoh, Yiddish, Yiddish New York
Dreamland
In the midst of a busy month, Bereshit ran ahead and I’m only now chasing down the parshiyot about which I have not yet written. Last week I was at a stellar week-long…
- 5784, Abraham, Bereshit, Bilhah, Egypt, Genesis, Hagar, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, Leah, Parsha, Potiphar, Rachel, Slavery, Tamar, Vayeishev, Zilpah
Forgotten Anchors
This parsha is astoundingly anchored by stories of women, often regarding how their actions affect the men in these stories. Parashat Vayeshev begins with the story of tension between Jacob and his brothers. For…
- 5784, Actions, Bereshit, Bilhah, Decisions, Esau, Fear, Genesis, Jacob, Joseph, Leah, Parsha, Rachel, Scarcity, Vayishlah, Zilpah
Scaredness and Scarcity
This week, I made a risky and scary move – action upon a decision about which I had total clarity during a conversation erev Rosh Hashanah. (Here’s where I tell you how exceedingly…
- 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…
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- 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…
