First haftarah of consolation (Shabbat Nahamu)
Jul 27, 2018 By Jan Uhrbach | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
This special haftarah, which begins nahamu nahamu ami鈥斺渃omfort, oh comfort, My people,鈥 is the first of seven special haftarot of comfort (drawn from Isaiah 40鈥63). During these seven weeks, the relationship between the people and God鈥攕trained almost to breaking on Tishah Be鈥檃v鈥攊s slowly rebuilt, allowing us to stand before God once again on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
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Holding Fast
Jul 27, 2018 By Mychal Springer | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
This week we emerge from the destitution of Tisha Be鈥檃v, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temples, and receive the gift of Shabbat Nahamu, the Shabbat of our being comforted. 谞址讞植诪讜旨 谞址讞植诪讜旨 注址诪旨执讬 讬止讗诪址专 讗直诇止讛值讬讻侄诐, 鈥淐omfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God鈥 (Isaiah 40:1). What is comfort? One way of understanding the essence of comfort is by engaging with Moshe Rabbenu (our teacher, Moses) in this week鈥檚 parashah.
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鈥淟ike Tefillin Straps, Roads鈥
Aug 4, 2017 By Yitzhak Lewis | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
Dress me, kosher mother [. . .]
And with Shaharit, lead me to labor.
Read MoreMy land is wrapped in light as a tallit
Houses stand like phylacteries And like tefillin straps, roads ride on that hands have paved. [. . .]
Ve鈥檃havta: A Pedagogy for Thriving
Aug 4, 2017 By Bill Robinson | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
What teachings of Judaism are helping you thrive in today鈥檚 world? How can you better keep these teachings in front of you at all times? And how can we help our children find in Judaism that which helps them thrive?
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The Smell of Canaan
Aug 19, 2016 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
The smell of Canaan he has had for all his life; that he should see the land only before his death is hard to believe. . . . Not because his life was too short does Moses not reach Canaan, but because it was a human life.
Read More鈥擣ranz Kafka, in a diary entry from 1921
Experiencing the Light of Torah
Aug 19, 2016 By Nicole Wilson-Spiro | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
This summer I returned to Jewish overnight camp after a 15-year hiatus. After all this time, s鈥檓ores, a love of cheering in unison (has the cheering gotten louder or am I older?), and earnest, hard-working counselors (I was one, once) are still to be found at camp. I am happy to report that the food is now much, much better than I remembered, and the supervision and attention to camper care have improved vastly, as well.
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Now I Am Old
Aug 13, 2011 By Abigail Treu | Commentary | Text Study | Va'et-hannan
There was a time
You would never have said, 鈥淓nough!鈥
A time when your passion
Burned
For me
Our Capacity for Evil, Our Capacity for Good
Jul 27, 1996 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Va'et-hannan
On the first anniversary of the bomb blast which erased 168 lives in the Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, the New York Times ran a photograph on the front page of Jannie Coverdale, who had lost two grandsons.
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