Our portion for this week, Vayishlach, is the story of a wrestling match, a struggle between Jacob and another figure—we don’t know if this figure is another man, or an angel or if the figure is God or even Jacob struggling with himself.Jacob enters...

A man sees an attractive young woman and goes up to her and, without a word, kisses her. This sounds all too familiar in the midst of our national conversation about sexual assault and harassment of women. But the episode to which I am referring is not...

This week, I encounter the first use of one of the greatest words of Torah. Rebecca is in distress over the twins wrestling within her. She expresses a pure sentiment of agony and goes to lidrosh of God (Genesis 25:22). Let’s leave that word untranslated...

The biblical story of Abraham and his wife, Sarah, culminates in this week’s portion Chayei Sarah.  Their status as patriarch and matriarch are supreme among other biblical characters.  The very first prayer of the Amidah (Standing Prayer), said three...

It isn’t easy to wake up in the morning. In this week’s Torah portion, the Torah describes for us three times that Abraham arose in the morning, each for a task more difficult than the last. The first time is in connection with the destruction of...

I find it hard to believe that this week’s Torah portion, Lekh L’kha, is all about international relations. But it deals with immigration and emigration, hostage taking and rescue, alliances, warfare and conflict resolution. Abram, Sarai and company...

I’m scared. Wherever I look, violence threatens. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speaks about his recent trip to North Korea and why the prospect of nuclear conflict is terrifyingly real. The Times reports how soldiers of the military of...

For many of us, beginnings can be simultaneously exciting and challenging. There are many “new starts” that we face throughout our lives: new schools, new years, new careers, new family members and more. Some people may approach these opportunities...

This week, we celebrate Sukkot. It is a festival in which we celebrate and give thanks for the bounty and blessings in our lives and, of course, we get to spend time outdoors as we dwell in sukkot. Sukkot is also a festival that celebrates hachnasat...

Ha’azinu is a lesson about remembering and forgetting. While this Torah portion includes a piece of poetry, one may suggest that the entire Torah is poetry. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1817-1893) wrote: “One of the distinguishing marks of poetry...

Netzavim-Vayelech is a double portion, although the tradition treats them like conjoined twins, inextricably linked. Netzavim  (stand) and Veyelech (go out) are bookends.  They are read just short of the High Holiday when we gather to do the work that...