The Doing that Comes from Knowing
Jan 20, 2017 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Shemot
Among the undercurrents in our portion are the consequences of forgetting and remembering on rescue and liberation, and of seeing and knowing on oppression and death. The Israelites鈥� fortunes are transformed, and transformed again, so rapidly in our portion鈥檚 opening, it seems the Torah wants to signal the tenuousness of circumstances that seem secure. The Torah goes to the trouble of naming the eleven sons of Jacob who relocate to Egypt (Joseph already having been there) and reports that their entire generation passed away. In the space of 11 words鈥攁nd seemingly no time at all鈥攖heir 70-member extended family explodes in number and becomes an innumerable presence to be reckoned with in Egypt (Exod. 1:1-7).
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Pictures at a Benediction: Envisioning Jacob鈥檚 Blessing of his Sons
Jan 13, 2017 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Vayehi
The Tanakh is notoriously parsimonious when it comes to providing visual details. They are supplied only when they are germane to the biblical narrative. Was Isaac good-looking? We are not told. But we are told that Joseph was, because it explains why Potiphar鈥檚 wife cast her eyes upon him. Was Moses bald? We will never know. But it is made clear that the prophet Elisha was; because of this, he was taunted by jeers: 鈥淕o away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!鈥� This is the beginning of the brief but horrifying story in which Elisha curses the children who mock him, who are then mauled by bears emerging from the forest).
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In Pharaoh鈥檚 Court
Jan 6, 2017 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Vayiggash
Our attention as readers of Vayiggash is naturally riveted by the dramatic events in the first half of the portion: Joseph鈥檚 self-revelation to his brothers; the family of Jacob coming to dwell in Egypt; and Jacob鈥檚 declaration that he 鈥渕ust go and see [Joseph] before I die鈥� (Gen. 45:28). What happens later in Vayiggash, however, is to my mind of far greater significance for the future of the children of Israel and the people of Egypt alike. The second half of the portion bears truths about Jewish history and destiny as relevant now as ever before.
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The Unpardonable Sin
Dec 30, 2016 By Marc Gary | Commentary | Miketz
Among baseball aficionados, the name of Ralph Branca is universally known. Branca, who died at the age of 90 at the end of November, was famous (or, for many, infamous) for being the pitcher who gave up the 鈥淪hot Heard Round the World.鈥� In the final game of the 1951 National League championship, the Brooklyn Dodgers were leading 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th inning with two men on base when the New York Giants鈥� power hitter, Bobby Thomson, came to the plate to bat. The Dodgers called on Branca to save the game, but his second pitch flew off of Thomson鈥檚 bat and over the green wall in left center field for a home run.
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Being Raised from the Pit
Dec 23, 2016 By Simeon Cohen | Commentary | Vayeshev | Hanukkah
Three years ago, Jewish novelist Dara Horn published her fourth novel, A Guide for the Perplexed. Borrowing its title from Maimonides鈥檚 quintessential work of Jewish philosophy, the book follows two sisters, Josephine and Judith, as they struggle with issues of faith, reason, memory, and sibling rivalry. Josephine and Judith serve as stand-ins for Joseph and Judah; in a sense, the novel functions as an extended midrash on a key biblical incident which can be found in this week鈥檚 parashah, Vayeshev: the casting of Joseph into the pit at the hands of his brothers. Ultimately, Horn鈥檚 Josephine and the biblical Joseph arrive at the same conclusion: through suffering, which both characters experience in their respective tales, one can ultimately come to achieve greatness.
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Wholly Jacob
Dec 16, 2016 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Vayishlah
Among the thrills in superhero movies is seeing the good guy take a pummeling and then stand unscathed in the next scene, ready again for battle. 鈥淣obody else could survive that punishment,鈥� we gush. The indestructible superhero comes to mind while reading of Jacob鈥檚 return to Canaan after living under Laban鈥檚 thumb, then wrestling with a mysterious man, then encountering Esau鈥攁 man who鈥檚 had twenty years to stew in a fratricidal rage.
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The Emergence of Praise
Dec 9, 2016 By Julia Andelman | Commentary | Vayetzei
Our parashah begins with Jacob鈥檚 profound, life-changing encounter with divinity: his dream of the ladder; his vision of God promising that his descendants will multiply and be blessed; and his vow that 鈥渋f God remains with me鈥he Lord shall be my God鈥� (Gen. 28:20-21). But our parashah includes another profound, life-changing moment of connecting to God鈥攁 less famous one鈥攅xperienced by Leah. After giving birth to three sons and naming each of them in accordance with aspects of her life experience, Leah gives birth again and says hapa鈥檃m odeh et Adonai (Gen. 29:35)鈥攖his time I will praise/thank/acknowledge the Lord鈥攁nd names her son Judah (Yehudah, from odeh).
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Two Nations in Your Belly
Dec 2, 2016 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Toledot
One of the most poignant and profound verses of the Bible appears early in this week鈥檚 Torah reading, Toledot. Our matriarch Rebecca, beset with a difficult pregnancy, asks God, 鈥淲hy me?鈥� (Gen. 25:22). And God replies to her with one of the most fateful verses of the Bible: 鈥淭here are two nations in your belly鈥� (Gen. 25:23). From that moment on, the die is cast: we are locked in a struggle with Esau / Edom. This week鈥檚 haftarah from the prophet Malachi teaches us the stakes: 鈥淚s not Esau Jacob鈥檚 brother? asks the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated鈥� (Malachi 1:2-3).
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