Lizzie Frankel: Lech Lecha I Walk Barren

Lizzie Frankel begins with the novel concept of the barrenness of men, rather than women. Avram says to God: “You haven’t given me seed”. What exactly is the meaning behind “seed” and Avram’s need for it?

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Lech Lecha

While Sarai is barren, Hagar is not. When she is sent away, God makes a similar promise to her that He made to Avram. However, she names God as “El Roi” – The One Who Sees, later The One Who Sees Me. This is a very personal approach.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Lech Lecha The Power of Example

Until now, the Biblical narrative is about archetypal characters, humanity in general. Suddenly the narrative becomes personal, an individual who is the patriarch of one nation. Why did God lose interest in the rest of the world? Actually, taking the entire Tanakh into context, the narrative is about other peoples: Egypt is a great nation, Nineveh is a subject of God’s concern, and so forth.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Noach

Please follow the link below to read Rabbi Barenblat’s poem on the Flood

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Noach Individual and Collective Responsibility

Rabbi Sacks takes a historical critical approach this week’s parashah, in particular the Flood and Tower of Babel narratives. The individualist and collectivist cultures are both problematic, whereas the joint approach is what makes a society function well.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Acharei Mot Thinking Fast and Slow

Rabbi Sacks writes about challenges in understanding the instructions regarding the scapegoat; in particular, 2 similar goats but with different treatments decided by a throw of the dice. Traditionally, the interpretation relates to atonement and purification, but doesn’t address the lots or the similarity of the coast.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Roots

In her blog, Rabbi Barenblat muses about the ancient agrarian traditions that resulted in the rituals with the etrog and the 4 species, whether they relate to parts of the body, or the agricultural prayer for rain.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Ki Tavo Together We Shine

Rabbi Barenblat writes about Deuteronomy 26:15 – “Look down from Your holy abode, from the heavens”. She considers the meaning of the Ishbitzer, who saw God observing the community as a whole, one person clarifying another. What does it mean for one person to clarify another?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z’l: Ha’Azinu The Inheritance that Belongs to Everyone

The idea that Torah knowledge belongs to everyone, that education should be universal, is one of the most powerful ideas in Jewish history. So many societies, religious and secular, control access to knowledge, either through finances or technical vocabulary, in direct contrast to Judaism.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: (Not) In My Hands

On October 2, Rabbi Barenblat posted a beautiful writing for what we cannot fix and what we can fix