Our sons were discussing their “Dream 5,” the team they’d put together if they could draw from basketball players across all teams. As they volleyed names around, they realized that their initial inclination to have a team of superstars would not work. There would be holes in the game strategy. The play style wouldn’t gel. It reminded me of the 2017 inaugural Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team, which crafted its roster by taking players that were not stars on other teams. W

Certain biblical moments really capture the minds of artists, such that there are many variations of the event in painting and sculpture. One of these is the event that happens early in our parsha וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃ Jacob was left alone. And a ??? wrestled with him until the break of dawn. I put ??? in the translation, because what or who Jacob wrestles with is a very interesting question. The hebrew is the word

Over the last few weeks, I've been take note of the instances of expressed emotion in our Torah portions. We have expressions of love (Isaac to Rebecca), anguish (Esau after losing the blessing), disgust (Rebecca over the Canaanite wives), and more. Sometimes emotions and feelings are read into the Torah through commentary and I found a really interesting one in our Torah portion this week. I discovered it because I was digging into the detailed account of the interaction of

This learning is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Sharon Decter Brendzel, whose 19th yarzheit will begin motzei shabbat. The soup that started it all.....Those readers who've been following along with this Parsha Inspired Menus journey may recall that there were about 20 years when the only parsha that I made a special food in honor of was this one - Toldot. For those of you who are newer, here's the brief story - in 2001 I was studying at The Conservative Yeshiva in Jer

This week Avraham sends Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac. The Torah recounts in a high level of detail of the conversation between the two men before Eliezer sets off, the plan Eliezer makes to ensure he finds the right wife, and the interaction of Eliezer and Rebecca at the well. And then, it gives it all to us AGAIN when Eliezer explains the story to Rebecca's family. There are 15 pasukim dedicated to this repetition and, given the importance of each word in the Torah, it b

I’m a big fan of Wish Lists. They’ve served my family well — wedding registry, baby registry, kids’ birthdays, Chanukah — they give us space to gather what we want or need, and then, almost like magic, many of those wishes come true. I’m also a big fan of To-Do Lists. Few things rival the joy of crossing something off my list. A good list clears mental clutter and makes life feel more manageable. So I perked up when I heard Dr. Cal Newport, a Georgetown professor and author,

Sing it with me... Hashem is here,Hashem is there,Hashem is truly everywhere!(x2) Up, up, down, down,Right, left, and all around!Here, there, and everywhere,That’s where he can be found! Want to hear it? Check it out . This Jewish children's music classic became an earworm for me as I did a close reading of the beginning of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In two places, directions are used that feel off because God is everywhere. The first is when God is telling Abraham hi

After many years of weekly Shabbat attendance and Torah study, there are still things I read in the Torah that I realize are deeply ingrained in my mind with some midrashic elements that were taught to me as a child. One example of those happens right at the beginning of our Parsha. The Torah text about the first encounter of God and Avram is short and to the point. God speaks to Avram, tells him that he should go forth and " וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יְ

Last week our cantor led a learning session in between Mincha and Ma'ariv. I actually didn't make it to the class (it was our son's bar mitzvah, so I was with our guests), but the topic of the class got me thinking - what was the shape of Noah's Ark? What probably came to mind for you is something like this: The Torah gives lots of measurements for the ark and some people have actually tried to figure out what it really looked like. Not surprisingly, there are a few different

This week we celebrate Simchat Torah and re-start our annual cycle of Torah readings. The content in Bereshit is probably some of the...

To-rah, to-rah, to-rah To-rah, to-rah, to-rah To-rah Tzvialnu Moshe! If you heard what we called the Torah Parade song in your head when...

The phrase עד מאה ועשרים (Ad Meah v'Eisrim - "until 120") is often used as a wish for someone celebrating a birthday. Though there are...

At our mincha discussion this week, we spent time talking about a piece of Torah text that deals with the reality vs. the ideal and it's...

Our Torah continues this week with some important guidelines, rules, and information about how to run a civil society. We're into the...

With just about a month to go until the High Holiday season begins, I wanted to provide the 3rd annual collection of starter stories for...

The very first word of our parsha caught my attention this week. רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃ See,...

אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים "These are the words..." And so begins the final book of the Torah and Moshe's long goodbye speech to the...

This week we have the double parsha of Mattot-Masei. They get paired because they are both pretty short, but they have a lot of...

Much of the early part of this parsha deals with the listing of the lineage and clans who will enter the Promised Land. After going...

As the Israelites journey in the desert, they have a number of victories over the nations/tribes that they come across so it's not...