Torah
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Parashat Vayera 5783 From the very outset of this week’s parasha, vision and and seeing are important themes. We meet Avraham at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day, where God appears to him –vayera elav. In the following verse we read: Vayisa et einav va-ya’ar v’hineh shlosah anashim nitzavim alav.…
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There is a place called the Everest Hotel. From the name you might think it is located in the Himalayas, or another exotic mountain location. In actuality, this Everest Hotel is a fairly nondescript hotel and conference center, with meeting rooms and a space to host gatherings. It is located in a town called Beit…
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Before it was cool again, one of my favorite books that I read in high school, was George Orwell’s 1984. A close friend and I found the novel so compelling, that we even wrote a satirical screenplay inspired by the plot, set in our high school. In our post-9/11 Texas public high school, we saw…
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The Torah’s telling of the sotah ordeal challenges us to think carefully about how we know what we think we know. As the episode of the husband propelled by jealousy teaches us, feeling something is true doesn’t actually make it true. And acting on beliefs and feelings has serious consequences.
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In the Torah’s account of the revelation at Mt. Sinai, the people’s response initially seems to be one of compliance or obedience, as they anticipate the coming revelation: (Ex. 19:8) וַיַּעֲנ֨וּ כָל־הָעָ֤ם יַחְדָּו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר ה’ נַעֲשֶׂ֑ה! All the people answered as one, saying, “All that Hashem has spoken we will do!” (Ex. 19:8)…
