Torah Portion

Parashat Lech Lecha: Having the courage to stand alone

Abraham’s willingness to stand alone would become a defining feature of our nation. As his descendants, we would desperately need that same strength.

AVRAHAM’S WILLINGNESS to stand alone would become a defining feature of our nation.

Parashat Lech Lecha: There is no wisdom like that gained through experience

LIFE’S TRIALS themselves are the light that a person must follow.

Parashat Noah: How prayer becomes an ark that carries us through turbulent times - opinion

‘Teivah,’ by Yoran Raanan, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 80 cm, 2026.

Parashat Noah: The main thing is the intention

He could throw the empty cup out the window, thinking no one will notice.

Parashat Shemot: Learning God

The divine cannot be reduced to scientific explanation or empirical inquiry. God exists beyond the categories through which human beings normally understand reality.

JANUARY 9, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN

The encounter at the burning bush lays the bedrock of monotheism. Illustrative.

Parashat Shemot: The continuity of the world

The victory of the midwives over Pharaoh was the beginning of Israel’s triumph over Egypt.

JANUARY 9, 2026ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

The numerical rise of the Israelites aroused fear in Pharaoh. Illustrative.

Parashat Vayechi: Keeping Israel Jewish – without coercion

We should value democracy, safeguard it within Israeli society, and participate actively wherever we reside, cherishing the liberties and dignity it secures.

JANUARY 5, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN

EXPRESSING SUPPORT for separation of church and state.

Parashat Vayechi: Change begins with you

Anyone who truly wants change must begin with himself – to be better, more generous, more understanding, and more open to differing views.

JANUARY 2, 2026ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

Jacob crossed his hands when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh

When brothers reunite: Ezekiel’s prophecy and Israel’s deepest divide

A biblical vision of unity shows why Israel’s deepest fractures are also its greatest tests.

DECEMBER 26, 2025ByMICHAEL FREUND

Iraqi Jews pray at the tomb of Ezekiel in Al-Kifl in southeastern Iraq on the Euphrates River, between Najaf and Al Hillah, in 1932.

Parashat Vayigash: A shoulder of tears

Though the formal verse of 'Shema, Israel' would only be inscribed later in Torah, Jacob sensed its truth centuries earlier.

DECEMBER 26, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN

Joseph meeting his father, Jacob, in the desert, at the frontier of Egypt. Painting by Jean-Antoine Julien de Parme (1736 - 1799).

Parashat Vayigash: Sharp emotional transitions

The Torah describes the emotional upheaval, the sharp transition from deep sorrow to astonishment and joy, when Jacob discovers that Joseph is alive and even holds a senior position in Egypt.

DECEMBER 26, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ