PARSHA POSTS: VAERA

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Nov 18, 2024, 2:34 PM

The Akeidah: Answering our Questions, or Questioning our Answers

Over the candlesticks and the kiddush cups, an unfinished artwork hangs in my parents' dining room. It’s a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation, dating back to the late 1800s. It was made by my great, great grandfather,...

Nov 13, 2024, 10:35 AM

Am Yisrael Chai

Parshat Vayera opens with a striking scene: God appears to Abraham as he recovers from his circumcision. This divine visitation, rare and profound, is interrupted by three strangers who approach weary and in need. Abraham then faced a choice:...

Nov 12, 2024, 11:49 AM

Parsha and Humanity: Vayera

Isaac and Ishmael, both beloved by Abraham and by God

Yael Chaya Miriam Gray

Feb 6, 2024, 3:27 PM

G-d Tests Avrohom; Avrohom Tests G-d

Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili: The Holy One of Blessing first places the righteous in doubt and suspense, and then reveals to them the real meaning of the matter,...

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...

David Seidenberg

Jan 19, 2024, 3:23 PM

What about Moses’ heart?

'The Death of the First-Born of Egypt,' 1838-1839, by Pietro Paolétti. (public domain)

How could the former Egyptian prince announce the last plague in good conscience, without protesting God's plan to kill so many?

Jan 15, 2024, 10:37 PM

Can the Whole World be Wrong about Israel?

Israel and the Jews are on Trial Today. Vital information to share with your loved ones. Israel is being accused of genocide and war crimes in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. As if it wasn’t bad enough that we...

Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

Jan 15, 2024, 1:49 AM

The Redemptive Message of Parshat Va’era

Some people think some Jews have a shetl mentality. Others think some Jews have a slave mentality. Looking at the aftermath of the Hamas Pillage of October – two very different reactions surfaced: Some voiced the shtetl-victimhood, hand wringing...

Jan 14, 2024, 6:02 PM

Vision in a time of crisis

When Moshe relays Hashem’s promise of redemption at the outset of the parsha the response is anti-climactic. The Jewish people do not listen to Moshe. The pasuk gives a very specific reason that Moshe’s message is not received by...

William Hamilton

Jan 12, 2024, 5:45 PM

I was wrong. You were right.

It’s delicious. Hearing someone say, ‘I’m sorry. I was wrong. You were right.’ If you’re like me, you spend a lot of life longing to hear these words. Yet, they are so elusive. So rare. Why? Turns out that even...

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