וַיִּקְבְּר֨וּ אֹת֜וֹ יִצְחָ֤ק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל֙ בָּנָ֔יו אֶל־מְעָרַ֖ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֑ה אֶל־שְׂדֵ֞ה עֶפְרֹ֤ן בֶּן־צֹ֙חַר֙ הַֽחִתִּ֔י אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מַמְרֵֽא His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre. (Bereshit 25.9) Sooner or later it happens to us: death comes to those who have had aContinue reading “Shabbat Hayyei Sarah: The Grace to Open”
Author Archives: rabbiariel
Shabbat No’akh: There’s Still Time
What caused the destruction of all that lived upon the earth? The Torah describes the divine thought process: וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃ The earth became corrupt before G*d; the earth was filled with lawlessness. וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ When G*d saw how corrupt the earth was, forContinue reading “Shabbat No’akh: There’s Still Time”
Shabbat Bereshit: The Fate of the Earth
The curse of farming, or, not all who wander are wrong On this Shabbat we begin all over again with Bereshit, a recounting of the ancient legends our people knew about how human life began. Interestingly, some of the first stories make no sense to us. We are mystified by HaShem’s choice of Abel’s offeringContinue reading “Shabbat Bereshit: The Fate of the Earth”
Shabbat Hol HaMo’ed Sukkot: Joy As Defiance
On this Shabbat we have come to the halfway point of the fall Sukkot festival. This time of year invites us to recognize our total dependence upon the fertility of the soil and the luck of the weather for our lives. The lulav and etrog which we wave in the direction of the four winds,Continue reading “Shabbat Hol HaMo’ed Sukkot: Joy As Defiance”
Shabbat VaYelekh: Beginning the Shemitta Year
On this Shabbat VaYelekh we have come nearly to the end of the Sefer Torah. Most of the parchment is rolled up on one side of the two atzei hayim, the two “trees of life” upon which the scroll is rolled. It’s a lot of parchment; a lot of text, of reading and studying andContinue reading “Shabbat VaYelekh: Beginning the Shemitta Year”
Shabbat VaYeilekh: We Went Forth
By Shir Tikvah Talmidah Hakhamah Emma Lugo In Vayeilech we find Moshe Rabeinu at the end of his life, and what a long and strange trip it has been. Our beloved Moses was born into slavery but became the Prince of Egypt by floating down a river, he discovered the truth about who he reallyContinue reading “Shabbat VaYeilekh: We Went Forth”
Who By Fire and Who By Water
as we prepare for the High Holy Days, this prayer from last year is still, sadly, relevant In the morning it is written and in the evening it is sealed: Who shall die jogging Who shall die relaxing in their home Who shall die seeking help after a car crash Who shall die holding aContinue reading “Who By Fire and Who By Water”
Shabbat Ki Tavo: You’ll Know Home When You Get There
Wherever I go I am going toward Jerusalem – Rabbi Nakhman of Bratslav, who never saw Israel The spiritual path of the Jews – and those who love them and travel with them – can be seen as a path of homelessness. From the days of the ivri, the one who crossed over the riverContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tavo: You’ll Know Home When You Get There”
Shabbat Ki Tetze: The Truth of a Bird’s Nest
We are not individuals, no more than birds are. We and they are individuated out of an endless sky of possibility and longing. And on a dark night we need each other to huddle against the cold. In this week’s parashah we see one of the most famous passages in all of Torah: the case ofContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tetze: The Truth of a Bird’s Nest”
Shabbat Shoftim: Justice One Step at a Time
Everything we see, whether good or bad, is really a reflection of ourselves. If it was not, we’d simply not see it. – Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism This Shabbat is called Shoftim, after the first part of the parashah, which deals with the need for a way to compel cooperation with social mores.Continue reading “Shabbat Shoftim: Justice One Step at a Time”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 