Mindful Torah...and more

ברוח קדים שב רת אניות תרשיש     With an east wind you have shattered ships of Tarshish. At first glance this seemed to be another one of those verses that I would have difficulty finding anything interesting to write about.    After all, last week I wrote about the necessity of experiencing pain in our lives and how we can grow spiritual if we face, rather than run away, from it.   For experiencing pain, even intense pain, can eventually bring about a spiritual rebirth.   Linking these ideas with a verse about ships of Tarshish was not something that came naturally.   But those are always the most challenging verses. What we know about these mysterious ships from various biblical sources, such as the 2nd Chronicles and Isaiah, is that they were used for along voyages.   These boats would travel to Tarshish and bring back gold, jewels and other riches.   It would seem that the verse is pointing to the power of God to s...

This week's parashah /portion is Va’yeishev (Genesis/ Bereshit 37:1-40:23).  It tells the story of Joseph's growth from adolescence to adulthood.  At the beginning of the parashah , Jacob is living in Canaan with his twelve sons and one daughter. Born when Jacob was elderly, and to his favored wife Rachel, his father dotes upon Joseph. Jacob demonstrates his preference by presenting Joseph with a beautiful coat of many colors. The other brothers are already jealous of Joseph, but this coat, and what it represents, further fuels their jealousy and hatred. The Torah says that Joseph's brothers hated him so much, that they could not speak a friendly word to him. (Genesis 37:4). But Joseph really didn’t help matters.   For in addition to his coat, Joseph possessed a great ego. He reported to his father whenever his brothers misbehaved. He told his family about his dreams which seemed to suggest that the members of his family would one day bow down to him. ...

This week's parashah is Vayishlakh ( Bereshit /Genesis 32:4-36:43).  In last week's parashah Jacob struggled through the night with the stranger/man/angel and, just as the sun was about to rise, he exacted a blessing and also had his name changed from Ya ' akov /Jacob, from the Hebrew for "heel,"to Yisrael /Israel (though he will be referred to by both names in the remaining chapters of Genesis), the one who struggled with beings Divine and human.  Though, not before the stranger pulls his hip out of it's socket, leaving Jacob injured and limping. See last week's commentary for a more detailed description. As Jacob struggled with the stranger, we also know that his twin brother Esau was preparing to meet him later that day.  However, the Torah tells us nothing about what might have been going through his mind as he prepares to meet the brother who took both the blessing and the birthright that had belonged to him as the first born child. ...

רעדה אחזתם שם חיל כיולדה 7. Trembling seized them there, an anguish like that of giving birth. Faced with something unexpected in the last verse, our human instinct is to flee.  But in fleeing the uncertain we also often flee from that which can actually provide us with support: God and community.  Guided by the ego and the need for self-preservation, we run alone away  from some unseen enemy.   Suddenly, we begin to shake uncontrollably.  We are grasped, not by just shock and surprise, but by fear.  We don't know what to do.  We stop running and fall to the ground writhing in pain like one about to give birth.  That is the powerful image found in this verse.  And the choice of words the psalmist used is quite telling. רעדה Ra'adah is translated in some places as fear.  But it's root is not the word for fear.  Rather, the word refers to the uncontrollable trembling that can come when fear overtakes us.   אחזתם Ah...

Last week's parashah was Toldot (see previous post) in which we read of the birth of the twin brothers Jacob and Esau, the beginning of their rivalry, the birthright and blessing being taken (stolen) from Esau by Jacob and ending with Jacob fleeing for his life. This week's parashah /portion is Va'yetze (Genesis/ Bereshit 28:10-32:3). It includes within it the well-known story of Jacob's dream. After fleeing from his brother Esau, Jacob finds a place to rest and while sleeping he has a dream. In this dream he sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven. On this ladder angels are ascending and descending; God is "standing" on the ladder. God promises Jacob that he will indeed become a great nation and that his descendants will be blessed. Upon awakening Jacob proclaims that had he realized the awesomeness of the place he would not have gone to sleep for "God was in this place and I did not know it." He then names the place Bet El, the house of Go...

This week’s parashah /portion is Toldot ( Bereshit /Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 ). It tells the story of the birth of the twin brothers Jacob and Esau to Isaac and Rebecca.   We know that the descendents of Jacob, whose name is later changed to Israel, who are to become the Jewish people.   And the Torah teaches that Esau’s children are to become the Moabites, one of Israel’s foes during the years of wandering in the desert. The stage is set for the rivalry between two nations/brothers in this week’s parashah: “ And the Eternal said to her (Rebecca), ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two kingdoms will separate from within you, and one kingdom will become mightier than the other kingdom, and the elder will serve the younger’ (Bereshit/Genesis 25:23).” When Rebecca gives birth to her sons, we read: “And the first one emerged ruddy; he was completely like a coat of hair, and they named him Esau. And afterwards, his brother emerged, and his hand was grasping Esau's hee...

As some of you may remember, back in the spring I began commenting on the seven psalms that have traditionally been designated as "psalm for the day."  Back then, I was writing on one verse per day.  I made it through quite a few verses, but then the daily writing, coupled with many major changes in my life, got to be a little too much.  And so I dropped the project with the hope that I would continue at some point.  And so that point has arrived. However, given the constraints on my time I have decided to take one psalm at a time and to try my best to write a commentary on the next verse on the day dedicated to that psalm.  I begin today with Psalm 48, the Psalm for Monday.  I had left off at verse 6 (verse 5 in most Christian translations) back in the spring.  So I am going to comment on verse 6 today and then next Monday, God willing, I will continue with verse 7.  The approach I have taken is to look at each verse on its own, as much as poss...