by Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Love, loss, rivalry, and betrayal: These words read like an advertisement for a blockbuster movie, a new must-read thriller. However, in the context of this week’s Parsha (Vayeitzei), each of these words are critical, both to understanding the nature of the individuals involved, and to the consequences of their actions. In […]

by Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Parsha TOL’DOT presents an ancestral tale that haunts us with its themes of cunning and deception. As the narrative proceeds, we feel the pain of both the tricked and the trickster. We realize that each of the characters is caught in a web of relationships, a web of words, true […]

‘CHAEI SARAH’ poses an interesting dichotomy between ‘LIFE’ and ‘DEATH’. The literal translation of the title of this week’s Parsha is: ‘Sarah’s Life’. However, when we begin reading the Parsha, Sarah has already died; and, Abraham, in deep mourning, is searching for a burial place for her. The biblical text moves immediately to Abraham’s next […]

When I was growing up, my neighbor had a beautiful poster hanging in her window.  It said “If you want Peace, Work for Justice.”  Every time I went over to her house I would read it to myself and it became an injunction for the way that I walk through the world.  I believe that […]

This week’s Torah Parsha begins by G-D speaking to Abram, “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you” There, G-D says, will eventually be a great nation. Abram, his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, journey to the land of Canaan. Abram builds […]

A considerable amount of time has passed between the introduction of Adam and Eve, and this week’s Parsha. The parsha begins with an instruction to Noah from G-D, “You are the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruption” He tells Noah to build a large wooden ark, claiming that “a great […]