Jacob
- 5784, Advice, Delegation, Exodus, Greeting, Jacob, Jethro, Judges, Laban, Leaders, Matriarchs, Moses, Parsha, Rachel, Relationship, Rulers, Shemot, Tzipporah, Yitro
Greetings…
I’ve been reading about greetings in the Bible recently – in particular, a long discussion in The Lost Matriarch (Jerry Rabow) about Jacob’s greeting of Rachel, then Laban. In Parashat Yitro, the simplicity and…
- 5784, Aaron, Burning Bush, Egypt, Exodus, Freedom, I Am Who I Am, Jacob, Levites, Midian, Miriam, Moses, Names, Parsha, Pharaoh, Shemot, Slavery, Tzipporah, Voice
Placing Names, Naming Places
And so Shemot/Exodus, in the parsha (Shemot) of the same name, begins as our last parsha of Genesis/Bereshit ended: walking us through the generations (by names, literally שמות) of Jacob’s descendants. The missing…
- 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, 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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- Ancestors, Bereshit, Blessing, Brothers, Culture, Egypt, Genealogy, Generations, Israel, Jacob, Joseph, Komps Kaos, Oath, Parsha, Shemot, Text Study, Textual Criticism, Torah, Vayechi
The End of the Beginning
The end of Bereshit – an accomplishment that feels markedly set within each year of Torah engagement. We have traipsed through our creation stories, begun to wrestle with our relationship to G!d (and…
- Benjamin, Bereshit, Bible, Brothers, Chanukah, Connection, Human Experience, Jacob, Joseph, Komps Kaos, Midrash, Nation, Parsha, Torah, Vayigash
Coming Back to Family
I’m sad that Chanukah’s over, but really had a wonderful eight days of lights, friends, latkes, Torah, & apocrypha (haha!). This year is made a lot brighter by new friends, more synagogue involvement,…
