by RabbiOlivier | Nov 17, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Toledot Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 Breaking Free From The Great Teachers At the opening of Toledot we find Isaac pleading with God, in the presence of his barren wife, Rebecca, that she might—after twenty years of waiting—finally bear a child. God hears Isaac’s plea...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 10, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1 – 25:18 When Isaac Met Rebekah This week’s Torah portion opens with Abraham setting out to find a wife for his son Isaac. To do so, he sends his most faithful servant back to the city of Nachor, his hometown, to find him a spouse from...
by RabbiOlivier | Nov 3, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Vayeira Genesis 18:1 – 22:24 Beyond Our Need For Justice In his life storyline, Abraham did not always rise to the occasion of his ethical challenges. Yet this aspect of his story is worthy of praise: his standing up to God in the episode of Sodom and Gomorrah....
by RabbiOlivier | Oct 27, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Lech Lecha Genesis 12:1 – 17:27 Heading Home Lech Lecha marks the beginning of the Patriarchal story in the Book of Genesis. We have traveled through the confusion of Creation and the Flood, and now we are about to embark on our spiritual journey as the...
by RabbiOlivier | Oct 20, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Noah Genesis 6:9 – 11:32 A World Filled with Violence Our, then, 10-year-old daughter, Amalya came home one day from the Jewish day-school she attended, with an assignment: to write a short essay about the first verses of Noah, this week’s Torah portion. This is...
by RabbiOlivier | Oct 13, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Bereshit Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 Cain & Abel: A Teaching on Generosity Abel was a Shepherd and Cain tilled the soil. And it was, after the passing of days, that Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Eternal; and as for Abel, he too...
