Bereshit
- 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…
- 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…
-
Re-Location
The third parsha of the year, Lekh Lekha, sends us into the unknown – or at least, begins that journey for our textual ancestors. In Debbie Friedman’s Lechi Lach, the simple words remind…
-
Re-Beginning
This year, I celebrated Parashas Bereshis in Washington, DC – or, more specifically, Alexandria, VA. Before Shabbos, I went to the mikveh for the first time in my life. This was all part…
- 5781, Bereshit, Creativity, Dissertation Diary, Genesis, Health, History, Human Experience, Pandemic, Parsha, Relationship, Repentance, Responsibility, Stewardship
What’s New?
Just like that, we’re back to the beginning – but this time, we’re in a jarringly different world. As in other crazy historical situations, rituals and traditions offer a framework and bring depth…
- 5780, Abraham, Ancestors, Bereshit, Beshert, Chayyei Sarah, Death, Dissertation Diary, Genealogy, Generations, Genesis, Hebron, Isaac, Life, Marriage, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Rebekah, Sarah
Burials & Besherts
The last parsha was filled with Sarah’s life, and this one is, well…not. She dies almost immediately – the title, taken from the opening verse, instead offers a glance back. From here, Parashat…
- 5780, Abimelech, Abraham, Akedah, Bereshit, Dissertation Diary, Genesis, Hagar, Hospitality, Ishmael, Lot, Messiah, Midrash, Parsha, Philo, Sarah, Sister Wives, Sodom, Theophany, Vayera
Our Ancestral Drama: Comedy or Tragedy?
The laughing started last week, but argument, sin, confusion, and oppression are quick on the heels of such mirth. In a parsha that begins with guests, hospitality, and a theophany, the human condition…
- 5780, Abraham, Bereshit, Challah, Change, Dissertation Diary, Genesis, Intimacy, Isaac, Journey, Laughter, Lekh Lekha, New York, Parsha, Relationship, Sarah, Songs, Travel
Where are Jew Going?
Perhaps the alliteration of Lekh-Lekha brings about all the attention this parsha gets. From a challah-venture who borrows the name, to Debbie Friedman’s well-known song, this seems to be a favorite of parshiyot followers.…
- 5780, Ark, Babel, Bereshit, Confusion, Covenant, Destruction, Dissertation Diary, Flood, Genesis, Loss, Noach, Parsha, Promises, Rainbow, Rashi, Ruin, Sforno
Promises, Promises…
So the first “promise” of the Torah depends on the weather – really? In the realm of G!d’s power to respond to the world, rain was the retribution of choice. Without delving into…