The story of Yaakov’s dream dialogues with a much earlier story, the story of the Tower of Babel. There, the tower builders set out to “make a name for themselves”. They would build a tower—a ziggurat—with its top in the heavens. But the true encounter cannot be forced. Yaakov’s vision comes to him when he is at his most vulnerable—alone, at night, in a strange place, far from home and fleeing his brother. Asleep and helpless to defend himself even against dreams. While the tower builders constituted a single unified society bent on wresting the secrets of the heavens, Yaakov is one man, alone in a stony land, suspended between a painful past and an uncertain future.
Of Birthrights and Blessings
What are we to make of the conspiracy on the part of Rivka and Yaakov to steal the blessing that Yitzhak meant to give to his eldest son, Esav? Surely this is treachery of the highest order! What does the Torah itself think of this act? While the Torah offers no immediate moral judgement of Yaakov’s actions, it will become increasingly clear that there right and wrong are rarely clear cut, and that Yaakov’s deception will have to be paid for.
Parashat Chayei Sarah: A mother’s role in nation building
Who the mother of one’s child is matters in more ways that one can ever rationally know. God doesn’t tell Avraham why Sarah must be the mother of his heir, but we readers begin to suspect that she holds the key to the future. Avraham seems to have learned this by the time he sends his servant back to Terah’s tribe to seek a wife for Yitzhak. The servant specifies a test for the bride-to-be: that she not only offer him a drink from her pitcher, but also care for his thirsty camels, at considerable investment of effort. In other words, he devises a test for kindness—kindness to the stranger and to beasts of burden.
Rockets & Reads: The November Jewish Book Carnival
Well, the first rains have finally made it to Israel, except that it’s been raining rockets and shrapnel all week long. But if we have to be spending time in shelters, at least there’s what to read! Here are some recommendations from around the Jewish blogosphere (in more or less alphabetical order). Note that cover images link to the relevant affiliate-linked book page on Amazon.
Book Musings: Devorah Steinmetz, Punishment & Freedom
In the course of my research for Havruta with a One-Eyed Cat, I’ll be reading a variety of books on topics ranging from Talmud to mathematical logic. Here are some musings on this week’s book: Devora Steinmetz’s Freedom & Punishment, a veritable treasure of Halakhic insight.
Parashat Vayera: The Nimrod-Avraham Spectrum
When God says of Avraham: For I have known him, that he will teach his children to love justice and compassion” God is in effect saying, I have a stake in the future of this nation, and I know they’ll survive as a nation. But more, we are told what the rules of the game are, and to pick our heroes accordingly. After all, God did!
Parashat Lech Lecha: The Covenant of Generations
Through the Covenant of Circumcision we consciously declare that humanity is meant to transcend evolution—history is evolution by other means, just as culture is instinct by other means. Only when human beings become partners with God in their own creation, do they become truly human.
Noah, Law, and the Chiastic Structure of Reality
In Parashat Noah, God promises that the natural order will remain in balance, with season following season. Now humans must ensure that their society also stays in balance. They will need to keep man’s wild side from breaking loose and destroying the world. If God is to forfeit the solution of erasing all life because of man’s wrongs, man must step in to make sure that justice is done, and balance is preserved.
August Jewish Book Carnival
We’re past the sadness of Tisha b’Av and only a week later it’s Tu B’Av, the Jewish answer to Valentine’s Day. For those not out dancing in the vineyards, what could be better than pouring a glass of wine and settling down with a good book? To get you started, here are some recommendations from around the Jewish blogosphere.
Just out! Cardozo on the Parashah
I’m excited to share a marvelous project that I’ve been involved in for the past nine months (er, no, not that kind of project). That’s how long it’s taken me to assemble a marvelous collection of essays by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, edit them, and put them into book form. Introducing Cardozo on the Parashah!
