In this week’s Torah portion, Toldot, we read of yet another set of biblical siblings who are opposites and rivals. Because of its economy of writing, the Torah seems to focus on plot-driving, sibling strife, but every time that I read Genesis, I find...

We bring down a clue from the Zohar, classic text of Jewish mysticism, that there was something chaser (missing) in Abraham’s generation that we are still struggling with, those of us who are its inheritors. The clues are everywhere written, and not...

About a week before a Shabbat or Yom Tov, I peruse the Torah Portion for that particular occasion. Generally, I focus on one or two parts of the Parashah, into which I delve more deeply. When Shabbat Lekh L’kha approaches, I go over the Portion from...

Starting this week, I am leading a study of a course offered at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill by professor Joseph Lam titled “Creation Stories of the Ancient World.” At the same time, we are beginning the reading and study...

This story was originally published on The Nosher. Stuffed cabbage rolls are a traditional Simchat Torah food because two of the little rolls side by side look like a Torah scroll. Even if your cabbage rolls come out in various sizes, you can place...

This week we joyously celebrate the bounty of our lives during the festival of Sukkot. Even though most of us are not farmers, we think about the cycles of nature and, more specifically, the harvest season.   If we were farmers, while focusing on the...

Sukkot is a Jewish festival that follows right on the heels of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Judaism’s High Holy Days. The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated...

This story was originally published by the National Library of Israel Among the many prayer books (mahzorim) dedicated to the High Holidays in the National Library’s collection, there is a particular two-volume set published in New York by the...

This story originally appeared in Hey Alma. I get a lot of odd looks when I tell people that my favorite day of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur. As Jewish holy days go, Yom Kippur exists at the complicated intersection of community observance, intense...

This story originally appeared in The Nosher.  When people deny themselves food for an extended period of time, they’re usually ravenously hungry and find themselves thinking about consuming huge amounts of food. But it’s not a good idea to pack...

As Yom Kippur quickly approaches, I am struck by the meaning behind the rituals and customs that surround our holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Chief among them: fasting for 25 hours. The Torah commands us to abstain from eating and drinking between...