In this week's Torah cycle, we study parshat Miketz, the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis. These narratives, and the character of our spiritual ancestors, often go beyond relaying generational lessons of morality and perseverance. With time (sometimes), we learn to care about the individuals portrayed in Torah. We begin to 'know' them and to see ourselves in who they are. By spending time with them, we learn about ourselves in ways that are profound. The character of Joseph begins as a 'know it all' teen-ager who is somewhat of a brat. He is hated by his brothers because he is his parents' favorite and treated as such. Keeping it a secret from their father (Jacob), his brothers betray him to a fate worse than death. From pit to pit to pit, Joseph is thrown into a hole, sold into slavery, and finally tossed into prison. Yet at each segway, through strength of character (and perhaps superb executive functioning) he is recognized and rewarded with a certain amount of … [Read more...]
Happy Chanukah!
Max and I moved into our first home this summer. As we explored our street, we took a look at the doorposts of the other houses, looking for mezuzot, trying to see if we were the only Jewish family on the block. We found one other home and brought them challot for Shabbat to extend a sort of "Hello, you're not the only Jewish family on the block anymore!" At this Chanukah season, we will retake a walk around the block, and perhaps those without mezuzot may still have a Chanukah menorah shining proudly from their living room window, letting the light of their Jewish pride shine out into the world. My prayer for our community is that we put Jewish pride at the forefront of our minds - that we proudly display chanukiyot in our front windows - and that such a display allows us to connect with other Jewish families in our neighborhood. It's a lonely world out there these days. This year, I pray that the light of the menorah will act as a reminder that though we may be distant, we are not … [Read more...]
Big Menorah, Pick-up Truck
One of the best parts of being Jewish, and the Jewish civilization, is that we are always either celebrating a holiday, or getting ready to celebrate a holiday. That is an amazing way to approach time… and life. The nip in the air is a sign that Chanukah is around the corner. It is not an accident, say our Sages, that this 'festival of lights' comes at the darkest time of the year. It is now that we need that boost of illumination and joy. Chanukah is our holiday where we celebrate religious diversity, and our own flavor of religious expression. It is where we teach existential messages of perseverance against the odds, and miracles that have allowed us to reach this present day. Most of all, it is a holiday of 'hope.' No matter where we lived, which country or era; no matter what was going on in the world around us, or in our own lives; we Jews would light the Chanukah menorah. We Jews would, and continue to, insist on bringing more light into the world. Especially when … [Read more...]
Holiness When You Don’t Feel Whole
Well, friends, it might feel like Passover all over again. Unlike many other groups of people, we have been here before. We celebrated the Passover holiday with Zoom seders, outdoor, socially distant spreads, and the realization that this year just wasn't going to look like years past. It's time to do it again as we lean into the American side of our American-Jewish or Jewish-American identities and celebrate Thanksgiving. As we sit down to our Thanksgiving tables, more than ever, we may recognize who is missing. Some of us will look around the table and realize that this isn't the table we usually sit at for our Thanksgiving meal. Some of us, those who are the usual hosts, will look around at where our friends and family have sat in years past and think about who will fill those seats when it is safe to gather indoors again. Some of us, like at every holiday, will call to mind the memory of the last Thanksgiving we spent with beloved friends or relatives, who are only with us in … [Read more...]
A Jewish Thanksgiving
For the past few years, I have looked at our American civic holidays with an increasingly Jewish lens. My soul and my stomach are no longer satiated by apple pie on the 4th of July or Turkey on Thanksgiving. I need something more on these American High Holy Days. A Jewish Thanksgiving should be more than dressing a bird and putting a proverbial kippah on the bird. A Jewish Thanksgiving ought to be accompanied by mindful acts and words that reflect our Jewish and our American identities. If we truly believe the words of the V'ahavta: to live our Judaism at all times, with all our mind, all our might, and all our soul, then these holidays beg for our Jewish innovation. Surely, Thanksgiving is about gratitude, but a Jewish Thanksgiving must also have tzedakah, and this year, Pikuach Nefesh. Judaism holds the words we speak in the highest regard. As our Creation narrative goes, the universe was created through God's words. However, words are not enough when it comes to helping our fellow … [Read more...]
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