Maybe the Torah is really Tamar’s story. Seen from that perspective, Judah’s interlude with Tamar is not an annoying interruption placed between Joseph’s sale into slavery and Joseph’s encounter with Potiphar’s wife. Maybe we need to know Tamar better. After all Psalm 92 tells us, tzaddik k’tamar – the wise/just
(This week’s parashah, Vayishlah, tells the story of the reuniting of Yaakov and Esau, which is preceded by Yaakov’s night-long wrestling encounter on the banks of the Jabbok with a mysterious man/angel. This is my interpretation of this parashah and the “sequel” to an earlier commentary I wrote on an
Flowing through Bereyshit/Genesis are the themes of blindness, deception, and identity. Last week, in Parashat Vayetzey, Jacob’s very identity was shaken and remade at Bet El. Before he fell asleep he was a thief fleeing from the wholly justified wrath of his brother Esau. When Jacob awoke from his dream
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And Jacob said when he saw them: “This is God’s camp.” And he called the place, “Makhanaim.” Genesis 32:2-3 What does it mean to meet an angel? The word “angel” comes from the Greek word for “messenger”
In Toldot, we come at last to Isaac’s story. And this year, as most years, we read it as we enter late autumn: a transitional time, the secular — or at least non-Jewish — equivalent to the transitional period that begins with Rosh HaShanah — New Year’s Day — and
In the Torah, Rebecca and Jacob use deception to get Jacob the birthright due to his brother Esau. It is natural and healthy to question the behavior of Jacob and Rebecca. Our ancestors don’t have to be perfect to gain our interest. In fact, they may be more interesting because
“And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah…” begins our Torah portion this week. Interestingly, Sarah’s age is not revealed with any sense of awe for the number of years she lived. Was there something different
In the Stone Edition Chumash, the brief note on Genesis 25:1-11, which summarizes Abraham’s life after the death of his wife, Sarah, and the marriage of their son, Isaac, to Rebecca, reveals more about human life than, I believe, the editors intended. They tell us, “as is customary in the
Should we be surprised that a parasha entitled Hayey Sarah, “the life of Sarah”, in fact opens with the death of Sarah, and encompasses nothing of her life story? Torah is full of round-about tales and messages. Here is one that is perhaps more significant for being less straightforward. It
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