by RabbiOlivier | Jan 15, 2016 | Torah Reflections
Bo Exodus 10:1 – 13:16 From Pharaoh’s Slaves to God’s Slaves There is one peculiar word in Hebrew that is used interchangeably in this week’s Torah portion. While the Torah portion itself tells of the last plagues wrought upon Egypt by God and, in...
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 | 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...
by RabbiOlivier | Oct 17, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Noah Genesis 6:9 – 11:32 Noah: A Righteous Man in His Generation? There is a thought-provoking Midrash about Noah from this week’s Torah portion that details a debate between two rabbis as to why the biblical author begins with introducing Noah as “a righteous...
by RabbiOlivier | Sep 17, 2015 | Torah Reflections
Ki Tavo Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 Let Your Heart Crack Open This week’s Torah portion begins: When you enter the land that the Eternal your God is giving your as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, you shall take some of every fruit of the...
