Vayera
Avraham v. Emily Post
Posted by Dena Weiss | Tags: Vayera
-- Dena Weiss Alexander Schmemann, an American Orthodox theologian of the past century, suggested that the sin of Adam and Chava (in his view, “original sin”), was that they began to look at the world as sacred and profane, as tov v’ra, as opposed to viewing the entire world as a gift of...
Sodom
Posted by Abe Mezrich | Tags: Vayera
God punishes the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah <em>because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous.</em> * Angels disguised as men come to Sodom. <em>The men of the city…both young and old, all the people from every quarter, </em>surround the house...
My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Vayera
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel | Tags: Vayera
In Parshah Vayera we encounter the Akedah, the story of the binding of Isaac in preparation for a sacrifice for which, thankfully, there is a last minute substitution. It is a story the defies easy explanation, and each time we read it we may have new questions. It begins as we’re told “God put...
Welcoming Visitors in the Synagogue
Posted by Al Kustanowitz | Tags: Vayera
This Sukkot, we had the honor of hosting a relative who happens to be an esteemed rabbi and scholar. On the first day he wanted to get to shul at the start of services, a goal that I strongly support but don’t often achieve. So I sent him off, with etrog and lulav in hand, and a plan to connect a...
Isaac remembers his father Abraham
Posted by Shoshana Michael Zucker | Tags: Vayera
Parashat Vayera 5756 (11/11/95) In memory of PM Yitzchak Rabin and Benjamin Welber. Abraham, my father! Isaac, your son, your only one whom you loved stands before you today, crying and confused. You, who were everything in my life, lie before me now, lifeless and cold. All...
Isaac’s Shofar
Posted by Shoshana Michael Zucker | Tags: Vayera
<strong>Isaac’s Shofar</strong> “Happy are the people that knows the shofar’s sound, they walk in God’s light.” What does it mean to “know the shofar’s sound? How can we walk in God’s light? What is a worthy life? These are among the questions we face today. In rabbinic literature, the...
