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Vayishlach: Missing Person Alert
The parasha of Vayishlach opens with the long-awaited reunion of Ya’akov and Esav. To Ya’akov’s consternation, he learns that Esav is not...
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Dec 2, 20204 min read
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Vayetze: of parents and grandparents
Ya’akov followed his father’s instruction and headed for the home of his uncle, Lavan. As he arrived in Haran, he asked the shepherds...
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Nov 24, 20205 min read
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Toldot: Generations
With the parasha of Toldot, the second patriarch, Yitzhak, takes centre stage. This new phase of Jewish history is introduced with the...
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Nov 17, 20205 min read
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Chayei Sarah: A Stranger and a Resident
Sarah has died. Avraham has to purchase an eternal resting place for her, which will become the first piece of the land of Israel to...
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Nov 10, 20206 min read
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Vayera: Planting and Building
Towards the end of the parasha of Vayera, just prior to the drama of the akeida, Avraham settles in Beer Sheva. וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל בִּבְאֵר...
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Nov 3, 20205 min read
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Lech Lecha ~ Lot: Decline and Fall
Avraham’s early days in Israel are beset by challenges. After being forced to flee to Egypt in order to avoid a famine, he returns to an...
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Oct 27, 20205 min read
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Bereishit: Creation in six or seven days?
And so the work of creation was completed. As we read from the parasha of Bereishit, in the words that are familiar from Friday night...
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Oct 14, 20205 min read
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Vezot Habracha: Moshe and Idolatry - why put them together?
Vezot Habracha. The final Parasha. The last moment of Moshe’s life. יָּמׇת שָׁם מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד ה׳ בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב עַל פִּי ה׳. וַיִּקְבֹּר...
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Oct 7, 20205 min read
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Vayelech: Singing the Song of the Torah
The final mitzvah of the Torah is found in the parasha of Vayelech. Having introduced the “song” that will constitute nearly all of the...
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Sep 7, 20204 min read
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Ki Tavo: Written in Stone
The parasha of Ki Tavo includes a detailed description of the first act that the Jewish people are to perform upon entering the land of...
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Aug 31, 20205 min read
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Ki Tetze: What's so bad about not offering sandwiches?
Amongst the very many mitzvot found in the parasha of Ki Tetze, we find this (Devarim 23:4-5): (ד) לֹא יָבֹא עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי...
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Aug 25, 20206 min read
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Shoftim: The king's second Torah
The parasha of Shoftim details many judicial institutions and practices that the Jewish people are commanded to establish on entering the...
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Aug 18, 20205 min read
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Reeh: Seeking Hashem's Presence
This essay is dedicated in honour of the yahrzeit of my mother, Ann Kennard, Chanah bat Yosef, which falls this coming Wednesday night...
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Aug 12, 20205 min read
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Ekev: Do mitzvoth apply outside of Israel?
The second paragraph of the Shema, which appears towards the end of the parasha of Ekev, describes the dangerous consequences of turning...
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Aug 6, 20205 min read
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Ve'etchanan: The Response to Exile
As a critical part of preparing the people for entering the land of Israel. Moshe warns them that there will come a time of failure, or...
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Jul 29, 20204 min read
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Devarim: Explaining the Torah
Parashat Devarim opens the new sefer, which is, in many respects, an elucidation of the mitzvot (some new, some previously listed in...
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Jul 22, 20205 min read
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Mattot: Two tribes become two and a half
The last section of the parasha of Mattot describes how the tribes of Reuven and Gad asked Moshe for permission to settle on the...
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Jul 15, 20206 min read
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Re’eh: The path to blessing
The Jewish people are presented with a stark choice – prosperity or destruction. In the opening words of the sedra of “Re’eh”, Moses...
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Aug 4, 20182 min read
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Ve'etchanan: Making Jewish Education Real
The sedra of Va-etchanan continues the final speech that Moshe gave to the Jewish people prior to his death. In this section, he recalls...
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Jul 22, 20182 min read
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Death and the Response
Chukat This week’s sedra describes some of the events of the fortieth and final year of the Israelites’ journeying through the desert....
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Jun 17, 20182 min read
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