Between the sea and the mountain
By Rabbi Ben SternmanParashat Beshallach With parashat Beshallach, the Exodus story reaches its apparent climax: The sea parts, the Israelites march through, the Egyptians are drowned. The children of Israel,…
Strength without venom
By Rabbi Dan LewinParashat Bo The focus of the Torah readings these past two weeks is the infamous 10 plagues, which reach a peak in this portion. They are the…
Turning a diminished spirit into hope for a better tomorrow
Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen By Rabbi Kimberly Herzog CohenParashat Vaera When Moses conveyed God’s message to the Israelites — that God hears their cries and will deliver them from bondage…
Knowing God: ‘I will be who I will be’
By Rabbi Andrew PaleyParashat Shemot My teacher, Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, shared a wonderful teaching about one of the most remarkable passages in the entire Torah, where God introduces Himself to…
To survive and prosper
By Rabbi Dan LewinParashat Vayechi “Don’t forget where you came from!” When a parent says this, it usually means “Don’t forget the values with which we raised you.” Socially, it…
Heeding the call of conscience
By Rabbi Michael Tevya CohenParashat Vayigash Skydiving? That’s one big step — that one where you pick up your foot even though you know there’s nothing there for your foot…
Heirlooms and reunions bridge the gap of generations
By Rabbi Daniel UtleyParashat Mikeitz Last week just after we gathered with family and friends for Thanksgiving, I began to rummage through some of my grandmother’s old belongings at our…
It’s a wonderful chai
In this week’s parashah, Vayishlach, we are told (32:24): “A ‘man’ wrestled with (Jacob) until the break of dawn.” Jacob recognizes that this wasn’t some ordinary human — that he…
G-d is in this place
By Rabbi David Stern “G-d is everywhere” is a lovely theology to teach to young children, so long as we’re ready for their responses: “So G-d is in my lap!”…
The ‘difficult’ child examined in this week’s parsha
By Rabbi Dan LewinParsahat Mishpatim This week’s Torah reading is entitled Toldot — “children.” The theme is struggle. First, we read how children don’t always turn out the way parents…