As Parashat VaYishlakh begins, Jacob survives a confrontation with his brother Esau, from whom he has been estranged for twenty years – a generation, a lifetime, of distance. Jacob has prepared himself for the worst, splitting his family into two camps and sending lavish gifts to his brother in advance – according to the Midrash, heContinue reading “Shabbat VaYishlakh: Gratitude, Not Fear”
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Shabbat VaYetze: Backyard Mitzvot Will Change the World
This is the parashah of the “baby wars”. Leah and Rakhel, sisters and also wives of Yakov, strive against each other to bear more children. In the triennial system in which we are reading Year Two, Rakhel’s dramatic declaration and Yakov’s reply reveal the intensity: וַתֵּרֶא רָחֵל כִּי לֹא יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב וַתְּקַנֵּא רָחֵל בַּאֲחֹתָהּ וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל-יַעֲקֹבContinue reading “Shabbat VaYetze: Backyard Mitzvot Will Change the World”
Calling upon the President-Elect to Pursue Justice: Oregon Board of Rabbis Statement
Pray for the peace of the place in which you live; build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit. – Jeremiah 29.7 Since the election, there has been an increase of hate crimes around our great nation. The Oregon Board of Rabbis is disturbed by this trend. A key part of ourContinue reading “Calling upon the President-Elect to Pursue Justice: Oregon Board of Rabbis Statement”
Shabbat Toldot: The Unraveling
This Shabbat we read parashat Toldot. Two boys are born to Rebekah and Isaac. Esau and Jacob are twins, born together – Jacob’s name reflects the fact that he is born holding on to his brother’s heel. Surely they will grow up to be close. But they grow up very differently. Esau loves the outdoors,Continue reading “Shabbat Toldot: The Unraveling”
Shabbat Hayei Sarah: Kindness Trumps Rights
Throughout many generations of wandering in Exile, our ancestors would begin to develop our community institutions whenever we came to a new place, and it seemed like we would be able to stay for a while. The first such institution was neither the beit midrash (learning center) nor a beit knesset (center for gathering and prayer) – itContinue reading “Shabbat Hayei Sarah: Kindness Trumps Rights”
Shabbat VaYera: Sodom and Gomorrah
Our parashah this week is VaYera, “he saw”, referring to Abraham, and his ability to see the Image of G*d in a stranger. Our reading, from the second year of the Triennial Cycle, brings us to one of the most infamous passages in the entire Torah, perhaps the entire Bible: the story of Sodom andContinue reading “Shabbat VaYera: Sodom and Gomorrah”
What Good Does This Safety Pin Do?
It started last week, immediately on the heels of the election, or maybe even a bit before: people starting to wear safety pins, as a sign to others that the wearers are those who will guard your safety with them. I hear that it’s an idea adopted from a reaction to Brexit. In the bestContinue reading “What Good Does This Safety Pin Do?”
Why Jews Should and Are Standing Up for Standing Rock
by Leora Troper Jews and Jewish communities around the country are standing up to support the Native American Water Protectors and to say no to the Dakota Access Pipeline. It is vital work, and fitting that we do it. There is, of course, what seem like the most obvious reason and most often quoted text –Continue reading “Why Jews Should and Are Standing Up for Standing Rock”
The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story
by Charles Eisenstein Normal is coming unhinged. For the last eight years it has been possible for most people (at least in the relatively privileged classes) to believe that society is sound, that the system, though creaky, basically works, and that the progressive deterioration of everything from ecology to economy is a temporary deviation fromContinue reading “The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story”
Shabbat Lekh L’kha: Go Forth, in Jewish
This week we cannot assert that the Jewish lifelines of Torah study and prayer are irrelevant for our day. This week it is almost unnerving how much the Torah and our Jewish tradition have to say to us to guide our thoughts and decisions. The haftarah for this Shabbat asserts: The coastlands look on inContinue reading “Shabbat Lekh L’kha: Go Forth, in Jewish”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 