Weekly Torah Reading

Exodus chapter 10:1-13:16   Laws Endowed with Life   Chapter 12 of this week’s reading contains the first commandments given to the people of Israel, starting with the laws of the new month and then moving on to the laws …

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Exodus 6:2-9:35 A Silent Signature   This week’s reading begins with God telling Moses, “I am the Lord” (Y.H.W.H). But surely Moses knew that already. In fact, just a few paragraphs earlier, God had instructed Moses to tell the Israelites, …

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Exodus 1:1-6:1   A Serious Question In this week’s reading, God calls to Moses from a burning bush and tells him that he is to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites to freedom. To this Moses responds, “Who …

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Weekly Torah Reading,Va-yiggash, December 31, 2022  Genesis 44:18-47:27 After They’ve Seen Paree   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 …

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Genesis 41:1-44:17 Aw Shucks, Pharaoh!   In this week’s reading we get a prolonged look at Joseph’s inner life—and what we see is rather surprising. Almost from the beginning, Joseph’s various encounters with other people are full of difficulties. His …

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Genesis 32:4-36:42   Counting Backwards   On the eve of his return to the land of Canaan, Jacob learned that his brother Esau, who had previously vowed to kill him, was now on his way to meet him—accompanied by 400 …

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(Genesis 28:10-32:3) None of the Former Jacob left Beer-sheba bound for Haran. Stopping for the night at a certain place, he fell asleep and had a strange dream. “And behold, a ladder was set in the ground, and its top …

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Genesis 25:19-28:9 A Common Thread   The three encounters between Jacob and Esau in this week’s reading seem to contain a common message. Their first meeting takes place even before they come out of their mother’s womb (Genesis 25:22). There, …

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