וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage (Exodus 6.9) Traditional Jewish teaching about the escape of our ancestor Israelites from Egypt maintains that it could not occur until we criedContinue reading “Shabbat VaEra: Breathe”
Tag Archives: Dr Martin Luther King Jr
Shabbat Toldot: What the World Needs Now
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Dr Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יִצְחָ֛ק אֶת־עֵשָׂ֖ו כִּי־צַ֣יִד בְּפִ֑יו וְרִבְקָ֖ה אֹהֶ֥בֶת אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב׃ Isaac loved Esau *כי צידו לפיו and Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25.28) Commentaries have long noted that it is inContinue reading “Shabbat Toldot: What the World Needs Now”
Shabbat BeHa’alot’kha: Lift It Up
Last week the parashah began with the command to lift up every face; this week, the word beha’alot’kha, “in your lifting up” refers to raising up the lights of the menorah, the seven-branched lamp designed by G*d, according to Jewish tradition, to illuminate the holy place. To lift up the face is to see theContinue reading “Shabbat BeHa’alot’kha: Lift It Up”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 