Robert E. Tornberg

A synagogue is, at its best, a place where each of us can feel that sense of rootedness and connectedness, a place where despite differences of age and experience; regardless of cultural background or class or sexual orientation or physical ability; whether we are "regulars" or newcomers, all of us can feel known and appreciated. As we complete the Book of Numbers this week, we find the Israelites yearning for just such a place. Over the last eight weeks, our Torah readings have recorded the events of their 40 turbulent years in the wilderness. As we come to the last two portions of the book, Matot and Mas'ei, the Israelites are looking to come home.

When Jacob and Joseph meet at the beginning of Va-y'chi, this final portion in Genesis, the weathered, weakened patriarch approaches his regal son. Jacob, a stranger in Egypt, is beholden to his son for his very life. He wants to give his son a blessing to assert the traditional relationship

I recently completed a fascinating course on Catholic theology as part of my Ph.D. program. One of the things that interested me most was the great struggle Christian theologians have had over whether body and soul are a unified whole or two separate states of human existence. While there is