Archives

As a child, one of my favorite Jewish stories was “The Letter and the Crown” by Ted Gross, which retold a midrash called Otiot de-Rabbi Akiba (“The Letters of Rabbi Akiba”) about the [...]

No Torah portion stresses the potential of each human being’s contribution to the community more than Vayekhel. Filled with details of the desert Tabernacle’s trimmings, embellishments, and [...]

Joseph, as Pharaoh’s right-hand man, lived as a prince in Egypt, managing the Pharaoh’s response to the all-pervasive famine. He commanded legions of Egyptian workers, oversaw the storehouses and [...]

In every reading and rereading of the Torah that I do, I’m constantly amazed by the brilliance of our matriarchs. Despite limited agency compared to their male counterparts, women in the Torah [...]

In Toldot, this week’s Torah portion, Isaac urgently plans for the future. Between his advanced age and failing health, our second patriarch focuses on bestowing a blessing on his children. [...]

The modern sage Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.” What a wonderful lesson from a man who surrounded himself [...]

Our patriarch Abraham is venerated by our tradition for many good reasons. He is a most dedicated and obedient servant to God, having been willing to leave his homeland with his family and travel [...]

Just one month ago, Jewish families around the world stood together on Yom Kippur, pledging to transform ourselves and our world. After taking an honest measure of who we are and who we could be, [...]

Midrash is a rabbinic commentary on the bible that clarifies legal points so that we can derive lessons through literary devices. We use stories, parables, and legends to help understand, fully [...]

During the month of February (Jewish Disability Awareness Month) Matan shares a weekly d’var torah linking inclusion to the upcoming Torah portion. We say often that JDAM may only be one month, [...]