Yitro

This family reunion embodies everything one might wish for in a relationship with one's in-laws: respect, affection, concern and companionship. Jethro was more than a family member; he was one of Moses's most trusted advisors. As we feel heart-warmed by this meeting, there is someone who is notably absent.

Jethro brought his daughter Zipporah and grandsons from Midian as part of this reunion.

More..

Beshallach

One intriguing approach among Jewish thinkers to the famous passages in our sidrah, and in chapter 25 of Deuteronomy, concerning the trans-generational struggle against Amalek is exemplified by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) in his commentary on Beshallach.

For Hirsch, the war of Israel against Amalek is not a physical confrontation but rather an uncompromising contest between two conf

More..

Bo

In a parashah that provides us with the substantial theological conundrum of how far human free will extends, we must also contend with another great theological challenge: why does God slaughter innocents? The problem here is not why God allows such an act to happen, but rather that it is God who appears to do the slaughtering - not some intermediary, but God.

More..

Va'era

God assures Moses that He will redeem the Jewish people from the slavery of Egypt and bring them to the Land of Israel which they will inherit forever. Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, the 13th-century commentator known as the Baal Haturim, points out that there are only two places in the Torah which speak about a morashah - an inheritance.

More..

Shemot

In this week's parashah, Moses leaves the privileged confines of Pharaoh's palace and witnesses an Egyptian attacking an Israelite slave. Moses looks around, sees no-one and beats the Egyptian to death.

Rashi offers a literal explanation, suggesting that Moses looked around and killed the Egyptian once he was sure that he could not be seen.

This literal reading is problematic.

More..

Vayiggash

Jacob leaves the Holy Land once again, this time to travel to Egypt, where he is to be reunited with his long-lost son, Joseph. Before he leaves, God promises Jacob that He will both accompany him there and return him to his homeland.

More..

Mikketz

The famine in the land had already begun when Jacob realised that there was food to be had in Egypt. And so he instructed his sons to go procure rations in order that they should not starve. But Jacob uses an uncommon word for these rations, shever.

More..

Vayeshev

Jacob's special treatment of Joseph, together with the dreams he recounted, not only engendered feelings of jealousy and animosity but were interpreted by his brothers as an attempt to usurp leadership from the firstborn.

More..

Vayishlach

The theme of division runs through this week's sidrah, which opens in a place named Machana'im (literally, two camps), where Jacob prepares to meet his estranged brother Esau. Jacob divides his entourage into two groups. Although there is resolution of sorts between the brothers, they cannot live together and go their separate ways.

Division and separation are not new to Jacob.

More..

Vayetsei

We feel relieved when Rachel finally has a son. After years of sister-envy and fertility struggles that undermine her own self-worth, Rachel gives birth to Joseph. Joseph, son of the favoured wife, naturally becomes the favourite of Jacob's sons, causing yet more jealousy and enmity to riddle through this large and important family.

We might think this moment is one to celebrate.

More..

Toldot

A haunting midrash cited by Rashi's commentary to this verse traces the origins of Isaac's blindness to the Akedah. At the moment when Abraham was about to sacrifice his bound son, the ministering angels witnessed the scene and wept. Their tears fell on Isaac's eyes, weakening them in his later life. This midrash might be read metaphorically.

More..

Chayei sarah

Within the first two verses of Chayei Sarah, Sarah is dead and, crucially, mourned. The Torah uses not one, but two words to describe Abraham's mourning - lispod v'livchtah. What clues to Abraham's mourning are being granted us through the use of both these terms?

These words are used together in few other places in the Hebrew Bible, notably in Ezekiel 24: 16 and 23.

More..

Vayera

Immediately after learning of God's plan to destroy the cities of Sodom and Amorah, Abraham begins to plead for their mercy. Yet the difference between his ethos and that of Sodom could not have been starker.

More..

Lech lecha

Throughout this week's parashah, God repeatedly assures Abraham that he will have many descendants, comparing them to the dust of the earth, and later to the stars in heaven. These metaphors have puzzled commentators for generations. Some read a historical reference into the images and suggest the two metaphors refer to the shifting fortunes of Abraham's descendants.

More..

Bereshit

In his classic essay "Majesty and Humility", Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik points to two midrashic homilies cited by Rashi's commentary to this verse. According to the first midrash, the dust from which man was formed came from the whole earth, its four corners. According to the second, the dust was taken from the future site of the altar in the Temple. Which midrashic view should we prefer?

More..

Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed Succot

The proximity of Succot to Yom Kippur in the Jewish calendar encourages us to find a theological link between the two holy days. Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement, brings even the most disaffected Jews to repent (or at least brings them to synagogue).

More..

Yom kippur

The book of Jonah is perhaps the focal point of the afternoon of Yom Kippur. The story is one we are all familiar with. The prophet Jonah is instructed by God to warn the people of Nineveh to turn back from their evil ways but his calls to them went unheeded and he attempts to flee from his divine mission.

He finds himself on a boat that is caught up in a fierce storm, raging unabated.

More..

Nitzavim-vayelech

Artscroll, Hertz, JPS, Koren or Soncino - every shul-goer has his or her preferred edition of the Five Books of Moses. The typeface variations, selection of commentaries, quality of the paper and accuracy of the English translation are just some of the issues a discerning reader considers. However, there is one constant - the Hebrew text remains the same.

More..

Ki tavo

For many people Judaism resembles TV in the 1950s. Judaism is black and white, dull, uninspiring, its rituals are old and we never quite reach spiritual satisfaction through them. Let me take you back to ancient Israel to the most colourful ritual that would have been in full swing this time of the year.

More..