Mindful Torah...and more

This week’s parashah /portion is Bo ( Shemot /Exodus 10:1-13:16). It begins “Then God said to Moses, ‘Come to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them, and that you may recount in the hearing of your children and your children’s children how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them – in order that you may know that I am God.’” (10:1-2). This is then followed by the onset of the eighth plague, that of locusts. Following the eighth plague, God again hardens Pharaoh's heart and the plague of darkness descends upon Egypt. Finally, the Egyptians experience the last plague, the death of Egypt's firstborn. It is this plague that will set the Israelites free. The parashah then concludes with the commandments to dedicate the first-born of the Israelites to God and to observe Pesakh /Passover. At the end of last week’s parashah, Va’era , it seemed that the ...

I first wrote this commentary/d'var torah three years ago.   However, given the current political situation in our country (and elsewhere) where so many seem enslaved to their own ego or ideology, I felt it was still quite appropriate.  Hopefully, the day will come when it will not. Shabbat Shalom, Steve Nathan ________________________________________________________________________________ Parshat Shemot: The Journey Into Slavery Begins This week's parashah is Shemot (Exodus/ Shemot 1:1 – 6:1). The saga of slavery and redemption that we remember each year at the time of Passover, as well as now during the Torah reading cycle, begins with this parashah. The narrative opens by reminding us of the names ( shemot ) of the sons of Jacob/Israel. Then we read that the Israelites multiplied greatly in Egypt. In fact, the Torah tells us that they "swarmed and multiplied and increased very greatly, so that the land was filled with them (1:7)....

This week we wish had never been. We saw America – and humanity - at it's worst and at it's best. We witnessed unspeakable violence against innocent children and adults. Yet, we also heard the stories of the brave teachers who risked and lost their lives saving their students. The stories of 6 yr. olds who grabbed their friends and ran with them to safety, even holding the door for them, while the gunman was still in the building. We read of the neighbor of Sandy Hook Elementary School, who took in the young children he found sitting in his driveway, still dazed and in shock, and cared for them until their parents arrived. And we witnessed the strength of the parents who, in their time of deepest loss, turned not to anger, but instead to love , wanting nothing more than to share who their child was in life, even while mourning their death. These are all humanity, and America, at its best. But after the carnage was over, we began to hear other examples ...

 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 par ashah ends with the story of Jacob stealing his brother's blessing from their blind father Isaac, by pretending to be Esau.  This ruse was masterminded by Rebekah, mother of Esau and Jacob.  Jacob was always her favorite, while Esau (the elder of the two twins who was destined to receive their father's blessing) was Isaac's favorite.  When Esau discovers that his brother has stolen his blessing (Esau having already given away his birthright earlier in the parasha for a bowl of lentil stew.  But that's another story) he is fur...

This week's parashah is Hayyei Sarah ( Bereshit /Genesis 23:1-25:18). Though the name of the parashah means "life of Sarah," it actually begins by telling of her death at the age of 127. Our matriarchs,and other women in the Torah, often get forgotten as compared to their husbands and other men. For though many portions are named after a man, this is the only one named after a woman. And if only one woman were to have a parashah named after her, it is quite fitting that it be Sarah. Not only because she was one of the two first monotheists (and proto-Jews), but because looking at the character of Sarah as portrayed both in the Torah and the midrash (rabbinic exegetical tales) it is easy to se that she surely deserves recognition. Within the Torah, Sarah is a character who is strong, yet flexible. When she thinks that her son Isaac is being threatened by his brother Ishmael (even though this may not have been the case) she immediately protects him by insisting tha...

Last week we began the annual torah-reading cycle over once again with the reading of Parshat Bereshit – the first chapters of the book of Bereshit /Genesis. This week we continue the narrative with Parshat Noach (Noah) , which includes not only the story of Noah and the flood, but also the Tower of Babel. As many of you are aware that there are certain portions in the Torah that are combined when it is not a leap year in the Jewish calendar and separated in leap years (when an entire extra month is added). Though Bereshit and Noach are not two such portions, I decided to treat them as if they were and see what might happen. The first thing that struck me was the name of this new double portion – Bereshit Noach . This could be translated as "In the beginning. … rest." This new name fascinated me for many reasons. For in the beginning of the Creation narrative there was chaos and formlessness. This is followed by an almost frenetic six days of creative activity on Go...

This week's parashah /portion is Vayelekh ( Devarim / Deuteronomy 31:1-30). As Moses prepares to die, he continues his oration to the people. In this parashah , he informs them that God has revealed to him that, after his death, the people will go astray, break the covenant that God has made with them and worship alien gods. As consequence, many evils will befall them. But God reveals to Moses that they will realize the error of their ways and proclaim, " 'surely it is because God is not in our midst that this evil has befallen us.' Yet I (God) will keep my countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods." (Deut. 31:17-18). Rabbi Isaac Meir Rothenburg Alter of Ger (1787-1866) commented on this passage, that if a person is aware that something is hidden from him, then the disaster is not so great, for he will follow his yearning, and break down every barrier that exists in order to discover what is hidden. Howe...