Covenant & Conversation 5774

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Nov 20, 2013, 3:11 PM

Vayeshev: The Power of Praise

Reuben is the leader who might have been but never was. He was Jacob's firstborn. Jacob says of him on his deathbed, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling...

Nov 13, 2013, 8:00 AM

Vayishlach: Be Thyself

I have argued in previous years of Covenant and Conversation that the episode in which the Jewish people acquired its name – when Jacob wrestled with an unnamed adversary at night and received the name Israel – is essential...

Nov 6, 2013, 8:00 AM

Vayetse: Light in Dark Times

What is it that made Jacob – not Abraham or Isaac or Moses – the true father of the Jewish people? We are the “congregation of Jacob,” “the children of Israel.” Jacob/Israel is the man whose name we bear....

Oct 30, 2013, 8:00 AM

Toldot: The Price of Silence

In an earlier Covenant and Conversation I quoted the Netziv (Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin, 1816-1893, dean of the yeshiva in Volozhin), who made the sharp observation that Isaac and Rebecca seem not to have communicated closely. Rebecca’s “relationship with...

Oct 23, 2013, 8:00 AM

Chayei Sarah: Beginning the Journey

A while back, a British newspaper, The Times, interviewed a prominent member of the Jewish community – let’s call him Lord X – on his 92nd birthday. The interviewer said, “Most people, when they reach their 92nd birthday, start...

Oct 16, 2013, 8:00 AM

Vayera: Answering The Call

The early history of humanity as told in the Torah is a series of disappointments. God gives human beings freedom, which they then misuse. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit. Cain murders Abel. Within a relatively short time...

Oct 9, 2013, 8:00 AM

Lekh Lekha: The Courage not to Conform

Leaders lead. That does not mean to say that they don’t follow. But what they follow is different from what most people follow. They don’t conform for the sake of conforming. They don’t do what others do merely because...

Oct 2, 2013, 11:03 AM

Noah: Righteousness is not Leadership

The praise that Noah is accorded is unparalleled anywhere in Tanakh. He was, says the Torah, “a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.” No such praise is given to Abraham or Moses or any of...

Sep 25, 2013, 11:41 AM

Bereishit: Taking responsibility

In the first parsha essay of the Jewish year, Rabbi Lord Sacks says Judaism is God’s call to human responsibility

Sep 24, 2013, 11:18 AM

The Torah we learn from life

Throughout 5774, each Covenant & Conversation will be about leadership. What does the Torah say about it? What do its laws tell us about it? What do its stories reveal about it? Is there such a thing as Jewish...

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