Parshat Vayera - Vayetzei

Torah Tidbits and Haftarah Highlights By Rabbi Steven Silberman (All page numbers refer to Etz Hayim) 

 

 

Nov. 4 - Parshat Vayera  - pp. 104 - 112  

The famous destruction of Sodom occurs in this Parshah. What happens to Lot’s wife? Why? 

Haftarat Vayera - pp. 124 - 126 

This Prophetic passage has nothing to do with Sodom. An elderly woman, without children, eventually gives birth to a son. Why do we read this passage on this Shabbat? 

 

 

Nov. 11 - Parshat Chayei Sarah - pp. 132 - 137  

How is Rebekah introduced to us? What demonstrates that she is the right type of person to become a matriarch? 

Haftarat Chayei Sarah - pp. 143 - 145 

Sarah dies in this Parshah. Why do we read about David and Solomon in the Haftarah? 

 

Nov. 18 - Parshat Toldot - pp. 152 - 158 

Old man Isaac requests a special meal from his eldest son, Esau. Do you remember who prepares and serves the meal? 

Haftarat Toldot - pp. 163 - 165 

“A son should honor his father,” says Malachi in the Haftarah.  Malachi is challenging Israel to honor God. Why do you think he mentions Esau and Jacob by name in the opening paragraph?  

 

Nov. 25 - Parshat Vayetzei - pp. 176 - 181 

Leah and Rachel are dueling with each other to gain Jacob’s attention and love. Leah has 6 sons and 1 daughter. Rachel has one son (Joseph). What does Joseph’s name mean? Does this meaning add anything to the conflict? 

Haftarat Vayetzei - pp.189 - 193  

Remember that Jacob flees to Syria in the Parshah. What links the prophecy of Hosea to the Parshah? 

Shabbat Thoughts- Lech Lecha 5778

  

Most of you know that my mother is from the Deep South. I was born in North Carolina to a Southern woman married to a New Yorker. Eventually, we moved to Connecticut. There was always a gentle undercurrent of friendly rivalry between the North and the South. Separate from visiting my grandparents though, I never gave any serious thought to southern Jewish history. At an early age, I visited the other Touro synagogue in Rhode Island, saw the famed George Washington letter to the Hebrews with my own eyes and grew up with a bit of a northern bias concerning Jewish heritage. It was not until many years later that my formal studies appropriately broadened my horizons. I learned of the historic Colonial Jewish communities of the South; Charleston,Savannah and Richmond to name a few. 

      Manette and I moved to Mobile, only to learn  that the Temple was one of the oldest Reform congregations in the USA and the Shul, originated in 1894, has maintained a cemetery, Chevra Kadisha and kosher kitchen for well over a century! Living in Mobile, I have come to understand the importance the Shul plays as a locus of identity for its members. I have learned from you of the storied and multi-layered Jewish history of our community. The South has shaped the life of its Jews even as Jewish life has shaped the life of the South by its many generations, many families, many public servants, communal institutions and devotion to communal, philanthropic and civic affairs. In many ways Jewish people and Southern life are interwoven. We could say that Jewish businesswomen, mayors, legislators, educators, volunteers, professors, merchants, performers, writers, realtors, entrepreneurs, attorneys, judges, parents, children, businessmen, physicians and more have all made Mobile what it is even as Mobile has made us what we are.

       In this week’s Parsha, Lech Lecha, our eyes widen with wonder over the beginning of Jewish history. God commands Abram to “Go forth from your land, your birthplace and your father’s household to the land which I will show you.”(Genesis 12:1). Abram is commanded to make his own way in the world as each of us must. To be an adult, we must set out on our own path and differentiate ourselves from our parents. Strikingly, though, God does not nickname or identify the destination which will be suitable for Abram. Abram does that himself as we see from the simple description in the Torah - “ And Abram journeyed towards the South” (Gen.12:9). All of Jewish history, indeed all of Jewish experience, emerge from this migration. Without his leaving Syria and traveling towards the South, we Jewish descendants of Abram would never have collectively heard God’s voice, been in Egypt, stood at Sinai, built two temples, introduced God to the world or originated spoken worship. Thank God for the South! May we all continue upon Abram’s path; each hearing God’s voice personally and moving forward as a result.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman     

Shabbat Thoughts- Parshat Noach -5778

Today’s skies were blue. On a day as glorious as this one, it is difficult to remember that two weeks ago we were in the midst of a great storm.  Our friends and family throughout the states of Texas and Florida and our neighbors in Puerto Rico suffered greatly from terrifying hurricanes. There is no evidence in our daily Mobile lives of the extremes of water and wind. In fact, we need to actively engage our memories in order to remind ourselves of the exceptional damage done by the storms.
          We marshaled our prayers and we shared Tzedakah. We all called our loved ones and prayed together, reassuring one another that we are ‘all in this together.’ 
         Today a great storm is threatening the state of Florida and the state of our nation. Richard Spencer, acclaimed as a leader of the ‘alt-right,' spoke on the campus of the University of Florida just a few hours ago. Cloaked in the protective garment of ‘Freedom of speech,' he promotes a message of glorification of people based only upon the happenstance of skin color and the denigration of people because of skin color and place of origin. More frightening than his presence on a college campus is the vocal upswell of support by people affirming the validity of his vulgar and racist chauvinism. Thousands of university students removed themselves from campus today out of fear of potential violence arising from the collapse of social order. Purporting that the broadcast of racist propaganda is one of our most cherished ideals, the expression of free speech, Spencer champions hate and close-mindedness as opposed to openness of thought which majestically arises from the free exchange of constructive ideas. 
                       
        In this week's Parshah we read of a society brought to extinction’s edge by a spread of lawlessness and corruption. Hamas, the Hebrew word for lawlessness, was the the last straw. If murder by a brother, theft of God’s own property ( the fruit from Eden’s tree), lying and shifting of blame did not warrant global destruction then we are left to wonder which types of behavior must have been so wicked that God decided to extinguish the world's population. I can only imagine that the conduct, so reprehensible, must have violated God's expectations of dignity and humanity for all. Despising people merely because of their appearance does come to mind.
        In this day we, too, are threatened with the most corrupt and vile of all human endeavor;racism and prejudice. Unlike Noah, who was the sole possible lifeline for a beleaguered and threatened humanity, each of us bears the power and responsibility to save humanity by speaking and living properly. We must all passionately reassure each other that we are in this constructive effort together, to build a world and not to tear it apart.
          Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman