by RabbiOlivier | Dec 5, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Vayeishev Genesis 37:1 – 40:20 The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Joseph Meet Joseph. Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son, to whom he gave the famous coat of many colors. Though we meet him at seventeen as our Torah portion opens, Joseph is described as a lad, a...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 21, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Vayetzei Genesis 28:10 – 32:3 God Was In This Place There is one verse in this week’s Torah portion which encompasses the entirety of the Kabbalistic endeavor: “Waking from his sleep, Jacob said, ‘Truly, the Eternal is in this place, and I did not know it!’”...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 14, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Tol’dot Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 Inward Bound There is a popular ice-breaker I often use to start a workshop or a meeting. I ask the people present, as they introduce themselves to the group, to add before their name an adjective that reflects who they are in...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 10, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1 – 25:18 When Isaac Met Rebekah This week’s Torah portion opens with Sarah’s death. After Abraham mourns her, he sets out to accomplish his last fatherly duty before he, too, makes his transition: finding a wife for his son Isaac....
by RabbiOlivier | Oct 31, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Vayeira Genesis 18:1 – 22:24 A Place of Great Evil In this week’s Torah portion we encounter a place of great evil: Sodom and Gomorrah. And God, in our story, has resolved to destroy both cities. It seems that, together with the Babel episode just a few chapters...
