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Nov 15, 2024, 5:27 AM

Vayera: Asking Faithfully

'Abraham's Sacrifice' by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1655)

When G-d asks Avraham to sacrifice his son, he does not ask questions. Tanach tells us that G-d puts him to the test, calling out his name and Avraham answering הנני, ‘here I am’ (Gen. 22:1), unquestioning in his...

Nov 11, 2024, 3:42 AM

Book review: The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel—Genesis

In his fascinating new book Reclaiming Redemption: Deciphering the Maze of Jewish History (Mosaica Press), Rabbi Moshe Taragin explores how Jewish history progresses toward its ultimate goal, redemption. Much of his book starts in 1948, after creation, with our...

Samuel M. Edelman

Oct 8, 2024, 6:02 PM

The Sons of Abraham and October 7th

It is the first anniversary of the October 7th vicious Hamas attack on Israel. I am consumed with sadness and anger while at the same time marveling at the resilience of Israel and the Jewish people in the face...

Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

Oct 2, 2024, 11:25 PM

The Lesson of the Akeda: It’s Not Necessarily What We’ve Been Taught

Spoiler Alert: It’s really about learning lessons and Gd’s Forever-Forgiveness on doing Teshuva. Today we are on trial for our lives- praying before the Lord of Justice, of mercy, seeking forgiveness. But, soon we read the Akeda, the binding of...

Sep 27, 2024, 7:23 PM

The Akedah today

In times of existential struggle Israel should look to her unique inception as a covenant people, and find solace in the Akedah, as a defining moment in Jewish history. “Take your son, your only son, whom you love and sacrifice...

Sep 25, 2024, 1:58 PM

This Year, Let the Shofar Do the Talking

I don’t know about you, but I am approaching this High Holiday season with heightened emotions that run the gamut from trauma and trepidation to hope and inspiration. If I am being honest, the trauma and trepidation are far more...

Yael Chaya Miriam Gray

Feb 4, 2024, 8:50 AM

The Sacrificial Ram of Israel

"Jeremiah declares: 'They have built altars to burn their children with fire as offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor did I speak it, nor has it arisen in my thought.' 'Which I commanded not - this refers to Mesha...

Nov 3, 2023, 1:02 PM

That ram – what a flawed offering to God!

"The real hero of the Binding of Isaac was the ram" -- not Abraham, or God, or Sarah -- writes Yehudah Amichai in his poem about the preeminent episode of this weekly Torah portion Vayera, (if not of...

Nov 2, 2023, 11:22 PM

The Unbinding of Isaac

About 50 years ago, I was teaching in the English Department of Iowa State University and living in Des Moines, Iowa. My shul, Beth El Jacob, hosted an itinerant lecturer, a young scholar who had recently co-authored a book...

Nov 2, 2023, 8:11 PM

The Akedah and Israeli soldiers today

(via Facebook)

The Akedah-the Binding of Isaac- which appears in this week's parasha- is arguably the most painful and heart-rending stories in all of the Torah. I often read this parasha in my local synagogue and I have always found it...

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