Weekly Torah Reading, Vayḥi, January 11, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayḥi, January 11, 2025 Jacob’s Staff At the end of his life, Jacob gathered his sons together in order to give each of them his fatherly blessing. But in fact, his three oldest sons didn’t end up …
Weekly Torah Reading, Va-yiggash, January 4, 2025
Weekly Torah Reading, Va-yiggash, January 4, 2025 Post-Paris Syndrome After Joseph revealed his true identity to him brothers, he sent them back to Canaan to tell their father Jacob the good news: his long-lost son Joseph was still …
Weekly Torah Reading, Mikketz, December 28, 2024
Weekly Torah Reading, Mikketz, December 28, 2024 Genesis 41:1-44:17 Fearing God Joseph’s abilities as a dream interpreter eventually landed him a job as a high Egyptian official in charge of grain supplies. Meanwhile his family in Canaan had begun to …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyeshev, December 21, 2024
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyeshev, December 21, 2024 His Father’s Face Joseph, whose early life is the focus of this week’s reading, got off to a rocky start. The favorite son of his father Jacob, he seems to have been …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyishlaḥ, December 14, 2024
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyishlaḥ, December 14, 2024 (Comprising Genesis 32: 4 – 36: 43) A Tenth of One Prayer On the eve of his return to the land of Canaan, Jacob learned that his brother Esau, who had previously …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyetze, December 10, 2024
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyetze, December 10, 2024 Covering Genesis 28:10 to 32:3 Thoughts on a Ladder In this week’s reading, Jacob leaves his family’s home in Beer-sheba bound for Haran. Stopping for the night at a certain place, he …
Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyera’, November 16, 2024
(Genesis chapters 18-22) “Abraham and Job” The Torah’s account of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac has raised questions among readers since ancient times. Among other things, commentators wondered why God needed to test Abraham in the first place. …
Weekly Torah Reading, Lekh-Lekha, November 9, 2024
This week’s reading contains one particularly puzzling episode. After Abraham has arrived in Canaan, a famine strikes the land, and he and his wife Sarah are forced to travel down to Egypt in search of food. (Egypt, with the …