Rachel Peck

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Jan 16, 2025, 7:32 AM

Israel At War 5785: Shemot – What Makes an Authentic People?

Jews are frequently referred to as a people. But it wasn't always so. We began as a family, its fortunes documented in Breishit, the first book of our Torah. The book of Shemot describes how this family became a...

Jan 8, 2025, 11:58 PM

Israel At War 5785: Vayechi – Leadership, From Joseph to Bibi

Of all the people in the book of Breishit (Genesis), Joseph is the one we read the most about. By the end of this week's Torah portion, Vayechi, we know more about his life than that of the three...

Jan 3, 2025, 12:29 AM

Israel At War 5785: Vayigash – When Trust Is Destroyed

In Vayigash, we learn the answer to the test devised by Joseph: could his brothers be trusted? This was an important question for Joseph to resolve. Torah commentators use this week's Torah portion as an example of what constitutes true...

Dec 26, 2024, 5:21 AM

Israel At War 5785: Mikeitz – Waiting, and Trying To Keep Faith

Few things in life are as hard as waiting. And waiting when you are powerless, and no help seems at hand, is even harder. At the end of last week's Torah portion, Vayeishev, we read that Joseph told the Chief of...

Dec 19, 2024, 6:30 AM

Israel At War 5785: Vayeishev – The Buck Stops Where?

Who was responsible for selling Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, into slavery in Egypt? This week's Torah portion, Vayeishev, tells us that his brother Judah suggested to the other brothers that they sell him to a passing caravan of Ishmaelites. (Genesis...

Dec 13, 2024, 12:33 AM

Israel At War 5785: Vayishlach – Should the Many Suffer for the Sins of the Few?

Was it just to kill, enslave, and loot an entire city of people because of the crime of one? This week's Torah portion, Vayishlach, relates how two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, reacted to the rape and kidnapping of...

Dec 6, 2024, 10:39 AM

Israel at War 5785: Vayeitzei – G-d Is in This Place

What can a dream about angels on a ladder teach us? What did it teach Jacob? Jacob had many teaching moments. In Vayeitzei we read how he went from one crisis to another. He fled to Haran to escape his...

Nov 27, 2024, 12:01 AM

Israel At War 5785: Toldot – Abraham and Isaac, Gevurah and Chesed

Isaac could not have been more different from his father, Abraham. Where Abraham was forceful, Isaac was passive. The Torah recounts many conversations between Abraham and Hashem. Abraham is an active participant in dialogue, even arguing with G-d over the...

Nov 21, 2024, 3:10 AM

Israel At War 5785: Chayei Sarah – The Lives of Sarah

"And they were, the lives of Sarah, one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the lives of Sarah." Why does this week's Torah portion, Chayei Sarah, refer to Sarah's lives, not her life? Sarah...

Nov 15, 2024, 5:17 AM

Israel At War 5785: Vayeira – When Strength Is Not Enough

Why did a Philistine king ask Abraham for a peace treaty? And why did Abraham consent to sacrifice his son, Isaac? These are the riddles in this week's Torah portion, Vayeira. And the answers suggest a path for today's...

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About Me

I was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the suburbs, but now reside in the temperate rain forest of the Pacific Northwest. I am a retired editor and proud Zionist. After October 7th, with our beginning again the yearly cycle of Torah readings, I kept seeing wisdom from our Torah that related to the current war and felt moved to write about this. In addition to finding some of my posts here, you can find all of them at https://kosherkitty.wordpress.com/