Ilana Goldstein Saks, at The Blogs

Mar 17, 2023, 10:00 AM

An artist's depiction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). (Aleksig6, via Wikimedia Commons)

Connecting to God is creative, a skill to be practiced and honed, and can't be dictated by someone else (Vayakhel/Pekudei)

Feb 3, 2023, 2:19 PM

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The forgotten story and why we need to know it

Moses sweetens the waters at Mara. From the nave mosaic at Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

The former Israelite slaves who sought water in the desert did more than slake their physical thirst at Mara's sweetened spring; they got a taste of Torah too (Beshalach)

May 16, 2021, 3:31 PM

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Err on the side of kindness

The Book of Ruth embodies a living Torah, where human practice and divine intent come together, a perfect celebration of the day the Torah was given

Dec 11, 2020, 9:32 AM

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‘His father wept for him’

'Jacob Shown Joseph’s Bloody Coat,' Circle of Rembrandt van Rijn, 1650s. (The Leiden Collection)

Jacob jumps to the obvious conclusion when he sees his son's bloody coat, but what if he'd entertained the possibility that Joseph was yet alive? (Vayeshev)

May 15, 2020, 11:55 AM

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Sabbatical in the fifth year

Illustrative: A wheat field in southern Israel (Doron Horowitz/Flash90)

The idea of rebooting our rushed, overworked society seemed unattainable: how could we just stop, so the earth could rest and heal? Now we know we can

Feb 7, 2020, 2:51 PM

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Tree tips

Illustrative. Lake with palm trees (Wadi Bani Khalid) in the Omani desert. (iStock)

A Hebrew 'dad joke' playing off trees (etz) and good counsel (etza) seems to be superficial rhetoric, but its roots run deep (Beshalach/ Tu Bishevat)

Sep 29, 2019, 4:13 AM

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Return

From 'Abraham and Isaac,' by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1645. (The Met)

Between the banishment of Ishmael and the binding of Isaac, my father taught me to find myself in the text. He asked: What do you think it means? (Rosh Hashanah)

Jan 25, 2019, 3:47 PM

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How an intimidating spectacle becomes a comfort

Mount Sinai. (Mohammed Moussa, Wikipedia)

It's remarkable how one singular event at Mount Sinai gave rise to so many different opinions (Yitro)

Nov 2, 2018, 11:27 AM

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Praying and planting

Illustrative. Summer grass field. (iStock)

Isaac seems like the boring patriarch, until you realize that he's the Torah’s archetype for all humanity (Chayei Sarah)

About Me

Ilana Goldstein Saks has an MA in Bible from Bar-Ilan University, has taught in a number of midrashot and schools in Israel, and has worked in Jewish Studies curriculum development. She has also baked and taught workshops on bread and Jewish sources at an Israeli artisanal bakery. Ilana is currently the coordinator of a special needs bakery at Sadnat Shiluv. and teaches online for WebYeshiva.org. She lives with her family in Efrat.