Shabbat VaYishlakh: Waiting To See

Looking to the future is normal. Even though it is true that we only have the moment in which we live, we spend most of our moments either looking back and remembering, or looking forward and wondering. When we are hoping and expecting good times to come, it’s diverting and pleasant to plan for them:Continue reading “Shabbat VaYishlakh: Waiting To See”

Shabbat Toldot: It Can Stop Here

Have you ever been vilified? Or known someone who was? We tend to shake our heads over the person as well as the process, decrying “cancel culture” but believing that the lashon hara’ must have some root in truth. Our parashat hashavua describes two brothers, twins, who are quite different. One loves the outdoors andContinue reading “Shabbat Toldot: It Can Stop Here”

Shabbat Toldot: Trust, Despite Everything

In parashat Toldot we read of the birth of the twins Esau and Jacob, born to Rebekah and Isaac after years of trying to get pregnant, and much frustration and difficulty. The family that is created when the children are safely born seems to thrive: their parents succeed in helping their boys to find forContinue reading “Shabbat Toldot: Trust, Despite Everything”

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”