Well, and it seems that if I don’t actually write about the parshah, then it doesn’t get written about. Strange. Last week was parshah Yit’roh (Exodus 18:1-20:23), which begins with the titular Jethro coming to visit his son-in-law, who is…
Parshah B’Shalach is Genesis 13:17-17:16, and is generally thought of as the Shabbat Shirah portion, the crossing of the Red Sea and the song on the other side. The parshah goes on afterwards to start the actual journey, with mannah…
I didn’t write a wrap-up of last week’s parshah, Bo, but it actually went very well. There were some gaps, some stretching to explain what I was asking, but the discussion was wide-ranging and fascinating. Almost everyone there said something,…
This week we read Parshah Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16), which comprises the last three plagues, the institution of the religious calendar and the annual observation of Passover, the hasty departure of Israel from their homes without leavening their bread, and the…
It turns out that Your Humble Blogger never wrote about Parshah Va’ayra (Exodus 6:2-9:35), in part because I didn’t prepare much for synagogue whilst on the road, and had a lousy discussion that I’d just as soon leave unexamined. I…
OK, Your Humble Blogger is on the road today, but here’s a quick Parshah note for Shemot (Gen 1:1 – 6:1). Shemot takes us from the birth of Moses all the way up to his return to Egypt with the…
Sadly, Your Humble Blogger has little time this morning to write about Parshah Vayichi (Gen 47:28-50:26. The reading is not very eventful: Jacob/Israel dies, and is brought back to Hebron to be buried, and then Joseph dies. There’s a lengthy…
This week’s parshah (Vayigash, Gen 44:18-47:27) starts with Judah pleading with Joseph (still in disguise) for Benjamin’s freedom. The scene leads up to Joseph revealing his identity and forgiving his brothers’ actions, for it was the Lord’s will, not their…
This is the tenth week of the cycle, so we’re reading Parshah Mikeitz (Gen 41:1-44:17), which is mostly Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. Pharoah dreams, and his butler finally remembers about Joseph, who interprets the dream as foretelling an…
Well, and this week is Parshah Vayeishev Gen 37:1-40:23) and it’s about time to go ahead and do it. By the way, for any Gentle Reader who wants just a summary, the Lubavitchers (of course) have a Parshah page from…