Parashat Vayishlack: Nuance in an age of absolutism
Experiences that could refine us and mature us are processed too quickly to leave a lasting imprint. Instead of being transformed by life, we merely skim it.
Experiences that could refine us and mature us are processed too quickly to leave a lasting imprint. Instead of being transformed by life, we merely skim it.
At the beginning of the Second Temple period, in the Persian era of the 4th to 5th centuries BCE, pigs did not have a unique status; other animals were viewed as equally non-kosher.
Three titles garnered the recommendation of the Association of Jewish Libraries: “Construction Site, Hanukkah Lights,” “Banana Menorah,” and “Lost and Found Hanukkah.”
But the real difference wasn’t the finances, at least from what I can see from afar. It was in the overarching vibe.
We speak the truth because it is the right thing to do, not because we assume it will immediately reshape the world.
If Israel, like Jacob, holds fast to its mission – even in exile, even in danger, even in darkness – then the promise of Hosea still stands.
See Shabbat times for your area.
If we were truly aware of the power embedded in our words, in casual conversation, in a sentence spoken in anger or sarcasm, we would be far more cautious.
Skin to skin - The doctor told him, “Place your hands gently on them, your touch can help.”
Jacob walked with conviction in silence; we must learn to walk with conviction amid the noise.
If the parasha is a saga of inheritance, of blessings fought over and destinies forged, then the haftarah is its echo, reminding us that a spiritual legacy must not merely be received, but upheld.