Vayetze is the sixth out of 12 portions in the Book of Genesis. It opens after the dramatic episode in which Jacob tricks his father,  Isaac, and robs his brother Esau of the birthright and blessing belonging to the eldest child. Fearing for his life,...

These are the generations of Isaac.Isaac entreats God, and God is entreated. Same verb, different structure. It is one of the words we encounter in Torah that is considered prayer.The same root, transitive and reflexive. Isaac entreats God, and God is...

As I age, I find myself reading the Torah through an entirely different set of lenses. I find the people whose stories are told in the text to be much more human and their experiences much more universal. That is certainly the case with this week’s...

America has had a choice to make about its future. We have been casting our votes, and the results are in, and they are painful. No, I don’t mean the presidential election that took place Nov. 8 with all of the scapegoating, threats, anger and fear...

Over this past holiday season, I found myself reflecting on the image of an apple and how it can be used as a tool for reflection, growth and learning. Each piece of the fruit reveals a different aspect of how we can grow in this coming year: the skin,...

The story of Noah demands that we consider the possibility that our behavior can have a major impact on how the world treats us. Human beings were corrupt and violent, and as if the heart of the world was crying volumes of pain, it rained continuously...

“I wish I could begin again.” The man sitting across the table from me in my study years ago held my attention with an intensity that I recall as if it was today. He was wracked with guilt and regret, and came to my office less for “confession”...

This Shabbat, we read Ha’azinu, the second-to-last portion in the Torah. This Torah portion is written in two narrow columns like a poem or song and is often referred to as a song. But why does the Torah, a book of history and law, end with song?The...

Moses spoke to Joshua, his successor. He told him a couple of things but what I remember most is the phrase chazak v’ematz: Be strong and courageous. I loved it when Moses talked about courage. He was one of the few who did.Moses said not to be afraid,...

The Middle School students of the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School had studied historical events that precipitated struggles for racial equality in the 1960s. They explored literature capturing divergent perspectives on lived experiences and the...