Leann Shamash

Author of the blog Words Have Wings

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Jan 1, 2025, 10:36 PM

Seventy Souls – A Family Portrait

The Family Portrait
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After the drama of the Joseph saga has reached its climax and Yosef reunites with his brothers and then with his father, we find ourselves, in Parshat Vayigash, beginning in Genesis 46, with a list of the descendants of...

Nov 27, 2024, 10:05 PM

Dig That Well-Parshat Toldot

In Perek 26 of the Parsha Toldot, we veer from the classic tale of the birth of Esav and Yaakov and the drama associated with their gestation, their birth and the ensuing deception leading to the birthright being taken...

Nov 14, 2024, 11:53 PM

A Poem for Parshat Vayera — Searching

What follows is an imaginary exchange between Yitzhak and Sarah as Yitzhak climbs Mt. Moriah with his father. Where was Sarah as Avraham and Yitzhak approached the mountain top for the event which will change the lives of all...

Oct 30, 2024, 8:17 PM

One Still Morning

Parshat Noach is about destruction. It is about a God that has made an error in creation, for people can be evil and they can be cruel. God decides that God's creation should be destroyed so God instructs Noach...

Sep 27, 2024, 4:32 PM

Believe: For Parshiyot Netzavim and Vayelech

Can you believe it? We are approaching the end of another Torah cycle. This week we read two short parshiyot, but perhaps we should say that we savor these two parshiyot, because they are very special. Moshe, whom we...

Dec 28, 2023, 9:37 PM

17 years: A song of gratitude

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Jacob lived 17 years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to 147 years. * * * The final 17 years of Jacob's life are not recorded as one of the stories in Breisheet. The...

Dec 21, 2023, 7:37 PM

It’s OK to Cry

Someone I know posted on his Facebook feed this morning that today is October 78, 2023, which is exactly how these past few months have felt to me and perhaps to you.It feels like October 7, 2023 was so...

Dec 6, 2023, 7:57 PM

Be That Light
Photo by Leann Shamash

Be That Light There is a space in our hearts where a soft light glows. Its flame glows even when darkness surrounds us, even when anger sweeps us up like a hurricane. Even then. Even now. There is light in our hearts. even when the despair threatens...

Nov 1, 2023, 5:59 PM

Photo by Leann Shamash

Parshat Vayera contains the stories of at least three women. The first is the story of Lot’s wife, who fled S'dom before it was destroyed. She was instructed not to look back, yet the midrash says that she turned...

Oct 11, 2023, 6:19 AM

Pendulum: A Prayer for the State of Israel

Pendulum the pendulum swings dependably left right right left again again Tick Tock Holding hopes mirroring ...

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About Me

After a career in Jewish education, Leann Shamash is the author of the blog Words Have Wings, which addresses the parsha of the week through poetry.

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