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Terumah

In this week's parsha we read about building the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, where God can be present among the people.  You can see a video here that describes how the structure was created.  If you want to see pictures (instead of cartoons) you can go to a search engine and enter the words "Mishkan images" and you will find many beautiful pictures of what everything might have looked like.  Or just click here.

Does your synagogue look like this?  Probably not.  I know mine doesn't!  Why do you think this is so?  To help you answer, think about the following three questions:

What was the purpose of the Mishkan?
What is the purpose of your synagogue?
Compare and contrast - how are they similar, how are they different.

Please feel free to post your ideas for others to share.  Remember, you're the commentator.

Mishpatim

Wow! Last week there were Ten Commandments, this week about a gazillion more! And we're just getting started with commandments to the Israelite people!

Let's look at just one situation in this week's parasha.

If an ox gores someone, the ox should be killed...but the owner is not responsible. However, if the ox was known to be vicious, and the owner was aware of it, then the owner IS responsible for what the ox did.

(Exodus 21:28,29)


Now, you probably don't have an ox. But you might have a pet - a dog, a cat, a hamster, or maybe goldfish. I would imagine your hamster or goldfish probably aren't a danger to anyone, but what about the dog or cat? According to what you read, what should happen if your dog bites someone (according to the text it should be put down, but that's the end of the story)

What if your dog has a reputation in the neighborhood for biting? And you know about it? Is this a different story (according to what you read it certainly is)

Why do you think this is so? What does it tell you about your responsibility for things you own?

What do you think? Do you agree or not? Explain your answer. X

Yitro

When Yitro meets up with Moshe in the desert he sees that there is a problem - too much work, too little time. It seems to him that Moshe is trying to do everything himself, without help. What would you suggest to Moshe if you were Yitro? Read what Yitro said to Moshe here:

21 Moreover you shallprovide out of all the people able men, God-fearing men, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place them in charge to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

In your own words, what did Yitro suggest? Why do you think Moshe took this suggestion? When someone makes a suggestion to you, how do you decide whether or not to follow it? Think about it and share your ideas in the comments below.

Va'Era

In the parsha we read this week are the descriptions of some - but not all- of the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians.

Which plagues are described in this parsha?
Can you figure out from the text which ones affected only the Egyptians?
Which ones affected both the Egyptians and the Israelites?

Why do you think there is a distinction?
Wich plagues would bother you the most? Why?
Which plagues do you think bothered the Egyptians the most? Why?

Hayei Sarah

Isaac and his brother Ishmael were separated when Ishmael's mother Hagar was sent away from the family. When their father Avraham dies, they come together to bury him.

Is there someone in your family you haven't seen or spoken to for a long time? What would help you renew your relationship?

How can you heal relationships that have "gone bad"?
Why might you want to?

VaYera

In case you didn't see last year's post, click on the label "VaYera" below this post!

This is the portion in which Abraham seems to negotiate with God about the fate of the cities of Sedom and Amorrah.  Will God punish everyone in the city even if there are 50 good people?  45?  40?  35?  30?  20?  10?  That's where Abraham and God finish the conversation.  As you can read, there are not even 10 good people, and the city is destroyed.

1. Why do you think Abraham had this conversation with God?
2. Why do you think God was willing to save the city if there were 10 good people, but not fewer than that?
3. Do you think it's fair to punish good people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?  What if there were 8 good people in the city?
4. What do you think would have happened to the bad people of Sedom if God had found enough good people to save the city?  Would they have gone without punishment, or do you think they would have been punished eventually?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

Lech Lecha

In this parsha Avram's nephew Lot is captured by enemies. Avram, when he finds out, sets out to free him. This idea of freeing hostages is known in Hebrew as pidyon shevuyim. You can read the story in Breisheet (Genesis) chapter 14 verses 12-16.

Recently there was a return of an Israeli hostage who had been held in Gaza for five years.

How was this return made possible?
Compare this to what Avram did in the verses you read.

Which method seems more appropriate in today's world?
Why do you think so?

YOU ARE THE COMMENTATOR! WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The Tower of Babel

Some people think the people who tried to build the Tower of Babel were punished because they were going to do bad things in the future.

Do you think people should be punished for PLANNING bad things?
Explain your answer.

Remember to share your ideas by adding your comments

Celebrating Sukkot

Ok, Sukkot begins this evening. Either you have built a sukkah at your home or you have not. If not, how can you celebrate the holiday anyway? Here are some thoughts. If you have others, please comment:
Find a sukkah in your neighborhood and eat there (probably your synagogue has one)
Invite company and cook something that is in season now to celebrate the harvest.
Make something special and tell the family - It's Sukkot! Let's celebrate together!

Studying Torah

In a short time we will be starting from the beginning of the cycle of Torah reading. This is probably not the first time you have heard these stories, and hopefully it will not be the last.
Have you ever re-read a book?
Why did you read it again?
What if anything was different about the way you understood the book the second time?
What do you remember about Torah from last year?
What do you expect from this year's reading?

Beshalach

This week's Torah reading brings the Israelites out of Egypt, finally, and through Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds.  After that miraculous event, you would have thought everyone would have been grateful to God for at least a while.  But according to the very next chapter, chapter 16 of Exodus, that's not what happened:

 2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3 and the children of Israel said to them: 'I wish we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, ...where we at least had enough bread to eat; Instead you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole people with hunger.' 

What were the people complaining about?
Why do you think they were complaining?
Do you think they had a good reason to complain?
What would you have said to them if you were Moses?

Read the rest of the chapter 16  to find out what happened.

Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Explain what you would have done if you had been there.

Imagine you were there and had a Facebook page.  Post an update to your status to tell everyone what has happened to you.

Bo

You all know the story - we tell it every year at our Passover seder.   What is your favorite part of the story?  What do you think would have been your favorite part if you were in the story?

Today there are Jews who live in countries where there is a lot of anti-Jewish activity.  Jews living there may feel they have to hide the fact that they are Jewish.  Some of the Jews in these countries choose to leave, while other decide to stay.  It may seem like a simple choice to you, but think about the fact that leaving means going somewhere you don't know anyone, have to go to a new school with no friends, might never see your old home and friends again .  Not so simple after all.

• Some commentators believe that only a small percentage of the Hebrews living in Egypt left during the Exodus. 
• Would you have been part of the group that left? 
• Or would you have stayed in Egypt? 

Explain your answer.

Shemot

When the family of Yaakov first came to Egypt, they were greeted warmly by the Par'o - the ruler.  In fact, they were given choice grazing land for their animals and treated in some ways better than the native Egyptians at the time.

They were lucky enough to thrive in this new country - their numbers increased and the wealth also.  In fact, after some 400 years they were so numerous and powerful that the Par'o at the time began to get nervous.  He began to see them as a threat.

• Why do you think he felt that way?

When a new family moves into a community, what usually happens?  Does it matter who the new people are?  Who the established residents are?

• Were you ever the 'new kid' in a school?  
• What was it like?  
• Were there a lot of other Jewish kids in the school?  
• Did that make any difference to you?
• How do you act when a 'new kid' moves in to your neighborhood?  Why?

VaYechi

This week's Torah portion tells about the move of the family of Yaakov - the family that would become the Jewish people in the future - from Canaan to Egypt.  Quite a big change for them, and probably for the Egyptians as well.

There is a big change in the population on Long Island - more and more people from different countries and backgrounds are living here, and bringing their customs and traditions to this part of the country.  In particular, there is a growth in the Asian population, as you can see from this flyer about a celebration held at Stony Brook University:  Asian/American Cultural Festival of Long Island.
There is also a growth in the Latino population, as you can see in this publicity for an art festival highlighting Latino culture:  Projecting Art.

Imagine that you are part of the family of Yaakov coming to live in Goshen.  What would you do to honor your culture?  Share your ideas here, please.

VaYechi

This is the final weekly portion of the book of Breisheet, the first of the five books of the Torah.  In it we reach the point in the story in which the entire family of the descendants of Yaakov (who is also known as Yisrael) have come to live in the land of Egypt, in the neighborhood of Goshen.

Why do you think they all stayed in the same neighborhood and didn't move in with the rest of the Egyptians who lived in other places in the country?

• When you, or your parents, or your grandparents, or your great-grandparents came to live in the United States, did they expect to stay forever or did they plan to return to their country of birth?
• Why did they come to the United States?
• Once here, did they stay separate from other groups of people?  
• Did they continue to speak the language of their former country, or did they immediately begin to speak English?  
• Did they think of themselves as "Jews", as "Americans", or did they have some other identity?
• How is the story of the family of Yaakov in Egypt the same as the story of your family in the United States?  How is it different?

Miketz

Joseph is the first Jewish fellow who lives outside the land of Israel and seems to forget he's Jewish.  He dresses like an Egyptian, talks like an Egyptian, marries an Egyptian woman, and even gives his first child a name that means, in the Egyptian language, "the person who makes me forget my past."  In fact, I bet if he lived in your city today he would probably have been celebrating Christmas with his friends.

In spite of this, Joseph is called a tzadik, a wise man.  How can this be?  After all, we are reading this during the week of Hanukkah, the holiday that is all about safeguarding the Jewish religion when Antiochus wanted to force us to give it up.

Click here to Read this article about Hanukkah and you may find out some things that you didn't know before, even though you have been celebrating Hanukkah your whole life.

• What surprised you about what you read?
• What bothered you about what you read?
• What do you want to know more about?
• How has your thinking about Hanukkah changed as a result of reading this article?
• What do you think is the connection between the story of Joseph and story of Hanukkah?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

VaYeshev

In this section of the Torah there is a long and detailed story about Yosef and his brothers that you have probably read and talked about many times before.  We all know the story - Yosef is his father's favorite child, his father Yaacov treats him better than the other brothers, they hate him, they sell him to a caravan, his father thinks he's dead, yadda, yadda, yadda.
When the caravan gets to Egypt Yosef is sold to a wealthy man and serves in the household as a slave until Potifar's wife accuses him of behaving badly and is sent to jail.  There he interprets dreams and eventually is freed (but that doesn't happen until next week's installment)

This is the longest story about an individual in the entire Torah (except for Moshe, and that's a different story, since Moshe is traditionally understood to be telling the whole thing).  It lasts through four parashot, four weekly Torah readings, and has much more detail than most stories.

Here's the question:  What's so important about Yosef that he gets such a long story?

• Is it about how bad it is to be jealous of your siblings?
• Is it about how important it is for parents to treat their kids fairly?
• Is it about how a kid who is pretty spoiled can turn out OK?
• Is it about how sometimes bad things can turn out to have good endings?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

VaYishlach

You may be an only child, or you may have siblings.  If you are an only child, you probably think sisters and brothers always get along well.  If you have siblings, you know this is NOT the case!!  In this week's parasha we read about a meeting between the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, who have not seen each other in years.  When they were together the last time, they had a horrible fight - so horrible that Jacob ran away afraid for his life.  (If you don't remember what they fought about, go back and read chapter 27)  Time has passed, both brothers have been successful as adults, but you have to wonder how they feel about seeing each other after such a long time.
Here's what it says in the text:

Genesis, Chapter 32  verse 4) And Jacob sent messengers ahead to Esau his brother...  5) [And he told them to give Esau this message,  "This is your servant Jacob's message - 'I have been living with Lavan.  6) and I have oxen, and donkeys, and sheep and servants, and I sent them ahead to give you this message so you will be happy to see me.

• How do you think Jacob feels?  

And the messengers came back to Jacob, and this is what they said:

7)...We came to your bother Esau, and he's coming to meet you with four hundred men

• How do you think Jacob feels now?

Some arguments are simple - you have them and then they are over.  But some are much more serious.  Did you ever have an argument like that?

• Why was the argument between Jacob and Esau so serious?  Do you think it can be solved?
• What advice would you give Jacob now?
• What advice would you give Esau? 

What do you do when you have a serious argument with someone?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

Vayetze

Rachel and Leah in this story are sisters.  Like most sisters, they probably love each other.  And like most sisters, they are probably jealous of each other from time to time.  Their jealousy is more complicated than most - since according to the text they are married to the same man - Jacob.  That couldn't happen today in our world... or could it?  In this article from Kenya, read what actually happened in one family.

From an article at the site www.torah.org there is an explanation of the rule in Judaism against one man marrying sisters.

we see how important it is in the eyes of the Torah for children to get along with one another. The Torah bans two sisters from marrying the same person for the simple reason that the Torah does not want siblings to fight with each other. Whether we are ourselves siblings or whether we are parents who have children who are siblings, we all know that this is indeed a very big challenge.

What do you think about this idea?  

In the United States and in Israel (and in most modern countries today) no person is allowed to have more than one wife or husband at the same time.  In your opinion, why do you think the rules were different in the past?  What changed?