Sitting in the dungeon I cry For my family Why did my father abandon me? Recently, I have hosted a beit Midrash in my house with the wonderful teacher I met at Pardes, Joe Wolfson. He suggested, based on a lesson from Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun that Yosef did not know about the real feelings of his father…
Month: December 2016
Chanukah Foods
By now, the fifth light of Chanukah, everyone has written about Chanukah foods. I decided to add my two cents, though. I decided to make a different kind of latkes – the lighter version of just potato, onion, flour mix. Mine feature carrots and zucchini along with potatoes and no flour at all. Here’s what you need….
Chanukah in my Life
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. First lights are lit in every house on my street The smiling faces you can see at every corner The songs of joy and laughing sounds grace the air My house has a light, but it is dark without you The souls of people lost forever Around…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses -Vayeshev
This is another parshah of family relationships in the Torah. This time, relationships between men. Father, sons, brothers. It is well known that Yaakov’s sons from his three wives had a difficult time understanding why Yosef was treated differently by his father than any of them. Yosef was the eldest son of Rachel, Yaakov’s beloved wife, who…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses – Vayishlach
“God said to him, “You whose name is Jacob, you shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be your name.” (Genesis 35:10) It is gloomy, cold, and kind of sad here in New York. Perfect days for a parshah that is not too easy to read. Are there any of them that one is able…
Just One Verse
A friend of mine just made Aliyah. Originally from Donetsk, she had to run to Kiev from the horrors of the war not wanted by anyone. There, she waited for permission to enter Eretz Yisrael. As an artist, a jewellery maker, a make-everything-myself lady, she settled in the best place for creative souls – the city…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses -Vayeitze
This week’s Parshah is full of family stories, deceit and internal Torah connections. Michael Hattin is making some great comments juxtaposing the story of Yaakov with the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. Do listen to his view on these connections based on the use of verbs, mostly, in both parashot. We see Yaakov running…
Gil Marks’ Yahrzeit
Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Gil Marks‘s death. Even though I met Gil only a couple of times, I feel that I have to write about this amazing man. I was sad to see that his webpage was taken down. The man was not only the real walking food encyclopedia, but a Rabbi writing…
Just One More
I wrote it a while ago. It is still true. It will always be. I wish I could walk by the Walls of that City with you – hand in hand I wish we would hear the whisper of stones in its streets I wish you would take me to share the silence in…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses –Toldot
This Parshah seems to contain many inner family struggles. First, it reminds us again that each birth is a miracle. As other imahot – אִמָּהוֹת – pra-mothers, Rivka did not immediately give birth. כא וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַיהוָה לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ, כִּי עֲקָרָה הִוא; וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ יְהוָה, וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ. 21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife,…
Noshing Across the Nation 