Sukkot: The Season of Our Joy
The Torah reading for the Shabbat of Sukkot (Exodus 33:12–34:26) includes the reconciliation between God and Moses following the Golden Calf, the inscription of the second set of the Ten Commandments, and the verbal covenant that accompanies this second giving.
Creating Family Peace
Overview
Pharaoh places Joseph in charge of food collection and distribution. (41:37-49)
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Joseph interprets Pharaoh's two dreams and predicts seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine. (41:1-32)
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry – Even in a Pandemic
Aligned with the rhythm of our earth turning on its axis, our season of returning (
"Is My Father [Really] Alive?": More than a Rhetorical Question
Are there any more moving words in the entire Torah than the question Joseph asks immediately upon revealing his identity to his brothers: "Is my father [really] alive?" (Genesis 45:3).
Our Stories, Ourselves
"One begins with shame and concludes with glory" (Mishnah P'sachim 10:4).This mishnah describes the narrative arc of the Passover seder: from sorrow to praise, mourning to celebration, slavery to freedom.
Joseph and Potiphar: The Named, the Neutered, and the Neutralized
When we last encountered our hero Joseph, he had been sold to traders from the pit his brothers threw him in, had been brought to Egypt as a slave, and had suffered greatly due to his supposedly salacious interactions with Potiphar's wife, all to end up moldering in an Egyptian jail.
The End is Also the Turning Point
Mikeitz, at the end, is the turning point, the beginning of the end of the Joseph story.
Letting God Into Our Lives
In Parashat Mikeitz, we find ourselves in the middle of one of the most complete and compelling human stories in the Book of Genesis. Unlike the narratives about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, however, a large section of the Joseph story contains no mention of God.
If Not Now, When?
This week's Torah portion, Va-y'chi, begins with the announcement of Jacob's imminent death.
He's a Sexy Guy
When you're as good looking and as "sensual" as Joseph, temptation and seduction are going to find you (see Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 35b). The Torah tells us, "Now Joseph happened to be fair of form and fair of appearance . . .