Laban
- 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, 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…
- 5779, Barrenness, Bilhah, Fertility, Genealogy, Generations, Jacob, Journey, Komps Kaos, Laban, Leah, Midrash, Parsha, Rachel, Sister Wives, Tribe, Vayetzei, Zilpah
Sister-Wives for Real
Our foremothers did a lot of kvetching & worrying about fertility. Barrenness is a recurring theme in scripture for these important matriarchs, yet we rarely remember their recorded struggle to conceive. The first…
- Altar, Bethel, Covenant, Descendants, Dreams, Esau, Gilead, Inheritance, Israelites, Jacob, Laban, Leah, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Rachel, Shepherd, Tribe, Vayetzei
Family Feuds
The third of our patriarchs, Jacob, produces some of the best drama in the narratives of Genesis! This week’s parsha, Va-yetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3) moves the reader from a story of love and strength…
- Aramean, Be'er Sheva, Birthright, Blessing, Esau, Isaac, Jacob, Laban, Matriarchs, Parsha, Patriarchs, Rebekah, Toldot, Twins
Twins & Enemies
Although he is the patriarch inhabiting the least biblical space, Isaac’s name arouses admiration, suspicion, and scandal. This week’s parsha, Tol’dot (generations), reminds us of what we’ve just read: that Isaac is Abraham’s…
