This is the season of long nights, so it is fitting that we are reading the story of our ancestor, Jacob, the patriarch most closely connected with the night. When Jacob first leaves home, he is running from the rage of his brother, Esau, and stops to...

“Alexander the Great had a soldier in his army who bore his own name but was a great coward. The emperor, enraged at the soldier’s conduct, justly said to him, ‘Either change your name, or learn to live up to it.’ ” (From “A Complete Treasury...

“Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never harm you.” How many of us have heard this adage during our formative years? Usually it was the response to a complaint that so-and-so called us a (pejorative) name. It meant that as long...

This week’s Torah Portion, Chayei Sarah, introduces us to Isaac and Rebecca’s love story. I have always been interested in Isaac and Rebecca’s relationship, and a few years ago, I used the medium of midrash to dive more deeply into their story....

I offer a teaching by Rabbi and scholar Arthur Green about the Jewish artistry for words in his introduction to the Zohar. Based on an understanding of the Second Commandment (no graven images), Jewish creativity was channeled into words.  While others...

This week marks the 30th anniversary of my becoming a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that my memories of the event are rather cloudy.  I remember my Laura Ashley dress with the row of pink bows at the waist, I remember...

This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Noach, tells the story of the eponymous Noah. Over six chapters (Genesis 6:9-11:32) and 153 verses, we read of Noah, the flood, the dove and olive branch, God’s promise to never again destroy the world and,...

Parashat Bereishit rolls in this week to remind us that we humans are all works in progress who need each other and probably a little divine care to live into our fullest selves.  We see this clearly when we take a closer look at the sections of this...

Despite the fact that I grew up in Denver in the semiarid state of Colorado, where there were few biting insects (except for chiggers!), my family never went camping. We would have picnics in the foothills of the mountains, usually around Buffalo Bill’s...

Just before his death, G-d allowed Moses to ascend Mount Nebo and view the land of Israel from a distance. Can you picture it?  An elderly Moses, in long white robes, leaning on a staff atop a mountain, content and looking out over the land G-d promised...

Parashat Vaylech is the shortest parashah in the corpus of the lectionary, the weekly readings of the Torah as we have them in our shuls. Yet despite its brevity, it possesses several critical teachings intended not only for our ancestors, the Ancient...

I was 6 years old when Harry Chapin’s song “Cat’s in the Cradle” debuted. It resurfaced in my life during my high school youth group years. Remember sitting around a campfire during Havdalah? The song session afterward always included this iconic...