By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week’s parsha presents an ancestral tale that haunts us with its theme of cunning and deception. As the narrative proceeds, we realize that each of the characters presented in Toldot is caught in a web of relationships; a web of words, true and false, from which they […]
Posts with the Torah tag
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: CHAYEI SARAH (GENESIS 23:1-24:67)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant The translation of this week’s Torah parsha, Chayei Sarah, is ‘The Life of Sarah’. Ironically, only the first two lines of the parsha pertain to the death of Sarah and no other aspect of her life is even mentioned again. Rashi wrote that the death of Sarah is […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: VAYEIRA (GENESIS 18:1-22:4)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Towards the end of last week’s parsha, we read of the supernatural birth of Isaac to Sarah and Abraham. At the time, Abraham was one hundred years old; and Sarah was in her nineties, well beyond child-bearing age. God made a covenant with Isaac, circumcising him eight days […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: LECH LECHA (GENESIS 12:1-17:27)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week’s Torah parsha, Lech Lecha, begins with God’s words to Abram: “Go forth from your birthplace to the land which I will show you; and I will make you into a great nation, bless you and aggrandize your name”(1). The writers of the Midrash had many obvious […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: NOACH (GENESIS 6:9-11:32)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week’s Torah parsha begins: “These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man for this generation; Noah walked with God”(1). Numerous commentaries have emerged, pertaining to the implication that ‘Noah was a righteous man’. In a rare ‘Torah Moment’, Torah scholars are actually in agreement […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: BEREISHIT (GENESIS 1:1-6:8)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant “In the beginning of God’s creation of the heavens and earth, God said: “Let there be light; and there was light”(1). The first Torah parsha of the Book of Genesis, Bereishit, is probably the most familiar of any other portions of the Torah. The wondrous origination of the […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: HA’AZINU (DEUTERONOMY 32:1- 32:5)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Every year, either in proximity, or during the ‘Ten Days of Repentance,’ we read the penultimate Torah parsha, Ha’azinu. It is no coincidence that when we are experiencing a heightened sense of spirituality, we are enjoined to hear Moses’ final words to The Children of Israel. For a […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: NITZAVIM-VAYELECH (DEUTERONOMY 29:9-31:30)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week, we read a double parshiot: Nitzavim-Vayelech. After hearing the list of 98 terrifying curses at the end of last week’s parsha (Ki Tavo), the people were devastated and questioned whether they could possibly withstand such frightful punishments. Moses responded with the opening statement of parsha […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: KI TAVO (DEUTERONOMY 26:1-29:8)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah congregant This week’s parsha, Ki Tavo, begins with instructions from Moses to the Children of Israel. They are directed that on the very day that they cross the Jordan, to create two huge stones on which each word of the Torah will be clearly written. At that point, The […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: KI TEITZEI (DEUTERONOMY 21:10-25:19)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week’s Torah parsha, Ki Teitzei, occurs as the Children of Israel are at the brink of embarking on war with hostile nations, as they tirelessly struggle to reach the ‘Promised Land.’ The parsha comprises seventy-four of the Torah’s six hundred and thirteen commandments. The separate commandments pertaining […]