November 7, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, following the death of Sarah, Avraham purchases a burial plot and sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Yitzchak. Eliezer finds Rivka and brings her to Yitzchak to become his wife. As we know, Eliezer creates a test for determining the future wife for Yitzchak (24:12-14), which involves waiting by […]

• Parent-Child Learning

October 31, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, the Torah continues with the adventures of Avraham and Sarah, including the announcement of the impending birth of Yitzchak and his actual birth, the destruction of S’dom, the exile of Hagar and Yishmael from Avraham’s house, and the famous episode of Akeidat Yitzchak (the Binding of Isaac). The parasha begins with Avraham […]

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October 24, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, Avram and Sarai follow Hashem’s call to journey to Cana’an, where the covenant between Hashem and Avraham is affirmed. Avram, renamed Avraham, has a son with Hagar, Sarai’s maid, and Hashem promises that Sarai, renamed Sarah, will bear a son as well. One adventure described in this parasha is Avram’s involvement in the […]

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October 18, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, we hear the story of Noach and the flood, its aftermath when Noach planted a vineyard and got inebriated and his son saw “his nakedness,” and finally, the story of the Tower of Babel and the birth of Avram. The Noach flood story is a transitional story, which we can see by […]

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October 10, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, we read about ma’aseh bereshit (the Act of Creation); Adam and Chava’s sin of eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad and their subsequent expulsion from Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden); Kayin’s murder of his brother, Hevel; and Adam and Chava’s descendants’ genealogy, culminating with the birth of Noach. Whether one believes, […]

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October 4, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

As many of us know, Sukkot is about showing our faith in Hashem by replicating and living in the flimsy structures used by the Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness. This provides a tangible reminder of the fragility of our homes. Given this theme, it is interesting that the dedication of the first Beit HaMikdash, the […]

• Holidays
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September 27, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

Because of the Yom Kippur holiday, we do not read a regular parasha (Torah portion) this Shabbat. Instead, we recount the Avodah (Worship Service) that High Priest Aharon was commanded to conduct in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and his descendants in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). One of the most striking parts of this service is the […]

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September 19, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

At the end of Moshe’s last speech to Bnei Yisrael, Hashem tells Moshe to write down a song to teach to the Israelites. “Put this song in their mouths,” Hashem says, “so that the words may become a witness for Me against them. After I bring them to the land that flows with milk and […]

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September 12, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In these parashot, Moshe describes the brit (covenant) between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael (the Israelites), urging Bnei Yisrael to uphold the brit and honor the Torah so that they may be rewarded with life in the land of Israel. He concludes his speech, blesses Yehoshua, and instructs the community to gather every seven years to […]

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September 5, 2017 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, Moshe instructs Bnei Yisrael (the Israelites) about the first fruit offering and elaborates on the terms of the covenant by listing the blessings for keeping the commandments and the punishments for disobeying them. One misconception that many people hold is that prayer did not begin as a Jewish ritual practice until after […]

• Parent-Child Learning