This week’s Torah portion, Bo, places us deep in the dramatic arc of the Exodus. The final plagues strike Egypt, Pharaoh finally relents, and the Israelites prepare for freedom. Yet what stood out to me in re-reading this portion was the verse that focuses on legacy and learning.  As the Israelites are commanded to prepare the

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, we approach the denouement of the whole Joseph narrative. After living in Egypt for many years and becoming the right hand to Pharaoh, Joseph finally reveals his identity to his brothers, who have come down from Canaan in search of food during a wide-scale famine. This is an emotional tale,

Traveling for Thanksgiving always seems to be a harrowing ordeal. There’s not a long time to travel, and lots of people are doing it, and so it seems like there are so many more opportunities for something to go wrong. Last year, I drove to and from my parents’

Sometimes when you’re knitting, you drop a stitch or twist your yarn or misread your pattern. Fortunately, most of those things are easily fixable if you notice before you’ve gotten too much further along. Once you’ve mastered knit and purl, the next skill to learn is how to adjust

Judaism places a huge value on the creative power of speech. In the very beginning of our Torah, God literally speaks the world into being. Our liturgy reminds us of this divine creation, and describes God as “the One who spoke and the world came to be.” A hugely

B'haalot'cha: What Do We Weave and What Do We Carry?  When I moved to Santa Fe in 2021, the Museum of International Folk Art was hosting an exhibit called From Combat to Carpet: The Art of Afghan War Rugs. Starting in the late 1970s, following the Soviet invasion of

It has been an intellectually challenging couple of weeks in the Temple Jeremiah Torah study group. We are deep in the weeds of the parts of Leviticus that list rule after rule, interspersed with stories of divine punishment and retribution. Last week, with Tazria-Metzora, we talked about the rules

The Way Meat Loves Salt  A father once asked his three daughters how much they loved him. The eldest said, "With all the warmth of the sun." The second, "With the power of an ocean's waves." The youngest, after a moment's thought, replied, "I love you the way meat

In this week’s Torah portion, T'rumah, the Israelites start building the Tabernacle, using the gifts that are brought by all whose hearts so move them. Together, they build a sanctuary so that God can dwell among them. They invite the presence of God into their midst through their generosity

We are finally bringing in the light! We’re on the other side of the winter solstice. The daylight will slowly get longer, but in the meantime, we’re lighting the Chanukah candles and filling our homes with light and warmth. Looking out the window to see a dusting of snow