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Parashat Beshalach: Exodus 13:17 - 17:16, Shabbat Shira

This Shabbat we celebrate the long-awaited deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, calling it a Sabbath of Song to echo the Mi Chamocha our ancestors chanted on the far shores of the Red Sea. We sing their song each time we pray but on this Shabbat the words take on special resonance as we imagine the joy beyond joy felt by those redeemed by God through miracles and wonders.

The miracles we experience today - especially the redemptions - usually fall far short of a sea split in two. In my class last week we studied together some prayer-poems of redemptive hopes and experiences more in keeping with our modern experience. In honor of Shabbat Shira (in Hebrew, shira means poem as well as song), I share three of those poems with all of you. Enjoy!

Share Them

If we have learned one thing from … Read More >

csa-recipes-for January, 31 2012

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the Winter 2012 CSA season!  We have a lot of wonderful local, organic fruits and veggies, as well as eggs, honey, olive oil, goat cheese, nuts, rice and other seasonal items coming your way over the next ten weeks.
This week we are featuring recipes for a soup and savory main dish that you can have at the end of a long and chilly day (not that it is particularly cold and rainy in Northern California these days…!)  We hope you enjoy both of these dishes!

See you this afternoon!

Warmest regards,
Rebecca and Janna

FROM REBECCA’S KITCHEN

If you have a lot of vegetables to use up, or have left over rice, or both, this dish is a great one to make.  It comes from the Cafe Brenda Cookbook, written by Brenda Langton and Margaret Stuart, two fabulous vegetarian chefs from … Read More >

Parashat Bo: Exodus 10:1 - 13:16

This Shabbat we read from the Torah portion called Bo. It begins with the recitation of the last series of plagues that fell on the Egyptians and then proceeds to spell the details of the first Passover celebration -before the Exodus ever took place, and laws regarding how Passover would be celebrated into the future.

“This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you…” (Exodus 12:2) It seems that in order for us to be free we had to separate ourselves from the calendar others observed. As slaves we were subservient to the order of the days in the Egyptian calendar. One of the markers of our soon to be celebrated freedom would be keeping time our own way. And once we were able to do this, mark every celebration with a purpose. Passover will … Read More >

Parashat Vaera: Exodus 6:2 - 9:35

Wine is a part of many Jewish rituals and celebrations. The Mishna teaches, “In every generation a person is obligated to see her/himself as if s/he actually came out of Egypt.” The Passover Haggadah employs many rituals to bring the story of the Exodus to life. One of them is the cups of wine. As the they are filled and drunk throughout the Seder, the stages of redemption are both told and celebrated. These stages are expressed in this week’s Torah portion:

“Say to the Children of Israel: I am Adonai; I will bring you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt, I will rescue you from servitude to them, I will redeem you with an outstreached arm, with great (acts of) judgment; I will take you for me as a people and I will be for you as a God; And you shall know that I am Adonai … Read More >

Parashat Sh’mot: Exodus 1:1 - 6:1

Returning from my sabbatical leave I am called upon to teach from this Shabbat’s Torah portion, Sh’mot. It is the beginning of a new book, the second in the cycle of the Five Books of Moses. I turn to its opening lines “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt…. “(verse 1) to “...Now there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph…” (verse 8) and discover in the text what happens in real life. The little word “And” at the beginning speaks of continuity. Having been away for three months I am grateful for the added effort each of my colleagues made to cover for me in my absence. As in the text, it seems seamless. A new book (or chapter) begins but it is intimately connected to everything that happened before. Yet at the same time verse 8 speaks of … Read More >

Parashat Vayechi: Genesis 47:28 - 50:26

One of the most rewarding parts of being a rabbi is studying with people who have decided to convert to Judaism. Adults (and some teens) choose Judaism for many different reasons. Some tell me they have “felt” Jewish their whole lives, have read and studied about Judaism, and want to make their commitment a formal, lasting and meaningful one. Some marry into Jewish families, live a Jewish life, and decide, too, to join our people. Some find life’s meaning in the mitzvot, some in Torah study, some in communal worship, some in the rhythms and lessons of the Jewish calendar and life cycle.

This week I spoke to someone who told me he was pulled to Judaism and the Jewish people because, as he said, “you do not give in to despair.” Despite all the times we were driven from our homes, persecuted for our faith and customs, murdered and … Read More >

Parashat Vayigash: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27

There is a Chassidic story that tells of two people coming to a crossroad. One chooses an uneven road, and the other a straight even road. The first encountered many obstacles but at last reached the city. The other had a much smoother journey at first, but near the end of the journey found the path blocked and had to return.

Over the last few weeks we have read the journey of Joseph. When Jacob sends Joseph to see his brothers in Shechem, he has no idea of the path Joseph would travel before they would see each other again. Receiving the multi-colored jacket from his father begins a complex journey for Joseph. His jealous brothers throw him into a pit and then sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites going to Egypt. He quickly goes from being a slave to being the manager of Potiphar’s house; yet is soon … Read More >

Parashat Miketz: Genesis 41:1 - 44:17

Fourth Night of Hanukkah
“It is all one dream,” Joseph says to Pharaoh, interpreting the ruler’s two separate visions of fat and lean cows, ripe and withered corn stalks. The dreams represent Egypt’s cyclical future of fortune and loss. The land will experience seven bountiful years followed by seven devastating years. If Pharaoh is smart - smart enough to take Joseph out of prison and put him in charge - the country will survive and thrive by storing the surplus in the good years to tide over the people during the years of famine.

And so it was. Pharaoh’s dreams play out exactly as Joseph predicts, with the result that Egypt becomes the breadbasket for the region. Joseph rises to second-in-command and finds himself in position to decide the fate of the very brothers who sold him into slavery. Some of the most emotionally powerful texts in the Torah … Read More >