Death
- 5784, Aaron, Bo, Death, Egypt, Exodus, Hardened, Moses, Parsha, Passover, Pesach, Pharaoh, Plagues, Power, Promises, Protection, Redemption, Shemot, Threats
Death Threats
As Moshe and Aaron continued to encounter Pharaoh and negotiate the freedom of the Hebrew slaves, death hung in the air, actualized through certain plagues (even before the last sign). Parashat Bo continues to…
- 5782, Aaron, Chukat, Community, Death, Eleazar, Journey, Midbar, Miracles, Miriam, Moses, Parsha, Poetry, Priests, Punishment, Purity, Red Heifer, Sacrifice, Seraphim, Songs
Fierce: Consequences, Journeying, Whining, Song
Three chapters pack in a lot of action this week in Parashat Chukat. When I first read the text and was pondering what stuck out to me this year, I realized that the…
- 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…
- Aaron, Challah, Death, Fire, Hebrew, Kashrut, Komps Kaos, Leviticus, Offering, Parsha, Presence, Priests, Purity, Rabbis, Shmini, Tabernacle, Vayikra, Worship
A Ceremony of Death & Kashrut
The first chapter of Parashat Shmini ceremoniously presents G!d’s appearance before the Israelites, after a series of instructions which they follow, led by the priests. I really wanted to say unceremoniously, even though…
- 5779, Benjamin, Challah, Covenant, Death, Esau, Estrangement, Israel, Jacob, Komps Kaos, Parsha, Rachel, Rape, Reconciliation, Revenge, Struggle, Thanksgiving, Tribe, Vayishlah, Wrestling
Growth Through Struggle
After leaving Laban’s household, Jacob must face another strained relationship in a scary encounter. His estrangement from Esau was alway sin the background of his journeys, his relationships, and his self-definition. Before Parashat…
- Abraham, Bereshit, Chayyei Sarah, Death, Descendants, Genealogy, Generations, Isaac, Kaddish, Life, Mourning, Parsha, Pittsburgh, Rebekah, Sarah, Synagogues
Lifecycle
Every year we talk about the irony of this week’s parsha: Chayei Sarah, or the life of Sarah. In reality, the only thing we are told about Sarah’s life is the number of…
- Bereshit, Blessing, Burial, Death, Descendants, Egypt, Ephraim, Forgiveness, Goshen, Homeland, Israel, Jacob, Joseph, Journey, Life, Manasseh, Mourning, Parsha
Genesis – Out!
Once again, just like with the parsha beginning with the death of Sarah, the Hebrew terms for death and life are both at play in the parsha. Parashat Vayechi, “And he lived,” begins…
- Abraham, Advent, Bereshit, Chayyei Sarah, Death, Family, Genealogy, Generations, Isaac, Life, Parsha, Rebekah, Sarah, Stories, Thanksgiving
Matriarch Madness
This week has been…yeah, a week and a half! Between school assignments, eight hours of driving, and hanging out with family, my post on Parashat Chayei Sarah didn’t get done last weekend. And…
- Abraham, Burial, Chayyei Sarah, Death, Descendants, Favor, Genealogy, Grave, Hebron, Horeb, Isaac, Life, Love, Marriage, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Prayer, Rebekah, Sarah
It’s All About My Sister…
…but it shouldn’t go to her head! Yes, my sister Sarah is named after Abraham’s wife (after the name change – Sarah of the promise as our father likes to say). The parsha…
- Annual Cycle, Burial, Creativity, Death, Deuteronomy, End, Haftorah, Inheritance, Israelites, Journey, Land, Moses, Nebo, Parsha, Poem, Presence, Prophet, Simchat Torah, Tribe, Vzot haBrakhah
Time Presses On
The end of a year. The end of a cycle. Could it really have come upon us so quickly? Have we really finished reading the Torah again? For a moment a person might…
