PARSHA POSTS: VAYERA

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Dec 27, 2024, 10:36 AM

My Personal Parsha

It's been 2 ½ years since arriving in Israel, and 6 months since becoming an Israeli citizen. During the last couple months, I have struggled with internal malaise – a sense of anchorlessness, an identity crisis of sorts --...

Nov 21, 2024, 10:51 PM

Philanthropy as a Pathway to Prosperity

You Don’t Give Because You’re Wealthy; You’re Wealthy Because You Give It’s no secret that Jews are the most generous people on Earth. Though we make up just 3% of the US population, half of the 25 most generous philanthropists in...

Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

Nov 18, 2024, 7:03 AM

Parshat Vayera: Seeing the Vision God Has for Us

The Lessons from the Akeda are mired in the cobwebs of old think, conjuring an Alfred Hitchcock movie, where Abraham eagerly proceeds on a mission to slaughter and roast his “only” son. His alacrity in performance (he can’t even...

Andy Blumenthal

Nov 17, 2024, 6:29 AM

Breaking Free From the Illusion of the Peaceniks

At every turn, we are faced with a choice: do we do things the easy way, the way that feels good at the moment and gets us lots of "likes" on social media, or do we follow Abraham's example...

Lori Prashker-Thomas

Nov 16, 2024, 9:29 PM

Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness: Lessons from Parshat Vayera

Breaking the Stigma of Mental Health - This design was created on Canva.com on November 16, 2024. It is copyrighted by Lori Prashker-Thomas/ShadowCatcher Photography (Paid Subscription)

In my personal journey, I’ve come to understand how vital it is to break the silence around mental illness. The shame, isolation, and misunderstanding that often surround these struggles can make the path to healing feel insurmountable. As I...

Nov 16, 2024, 12:35 AM

The Path to a Jewish Trifecta

Security of our identity and our homeland is tied to a secure attachment with Torah

Earlier this week, my colleagues and I were discussing the Rebbe’s Rashi project. After the passing of his mother in 1964, the Rebbe began a project in which he examined the Torah interpretations of Judaism's foremost biblical commentator, the 11th-century...

Nov 16, 2024, 12:32 AM

Life Is Funny, Isn’t It?! – The Mystic Holiness of Laughter

It’s hard to find opportunities to laugh these days. The world around us is tense and fraught with conflict. The news is full of doom and gloom. Too many people are struggling, hurting, afraid. Yet even in the midst...

Nov 15, 2024, 11:44 PM

Vayera: Prioritizing Mitzvot bein Adam le-Chaveiro

The Mitzvot in the Torah are typically divided into two categories: Mitzvot bein Adam la-Makom (between human beings and God) and Mitzvot bein Adam le-Chaveiro (between one person and another). The fact that that the first 4 of the...

Helen Gottstein

Nov 15, 2024, 3:21 PM

The so-called 'Lot's Wife' pillar, Mount Sodom, Israel, June 2007. (Wilson44691, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

It doesn't make sense, but you can be considered a great man, even if you are abusive to women (Vayera)

William Hamilton

Nov 15, 2024, 2:47 PM

What Would You Have Done?

If you’ve ever wondered, How would I have stepped up? How would I have risen to the occasion when, for example, a fugitive slave was being hunted? Would I have marched in Selma? Been as courageous as a Righteous...

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