Does my small contribution do anything? Whether it’s a donation to a fundraiser, or biking to work instead of driving, these things have minimal impact on my daily life, so how in the grand scheme of the universe does my little action make a difference?
Arriving in Jerusalem, it didn't feel like 16 years since my last visit. It felt simultaneously like returning home, and yet like a strange new city.
In Parshat Vayetzei, we read the dream of Jacob’s ladder, as angels rise and descend in a place called Beth El, the House of God. In normal years, we could all find inspiration and encouragement in the power of our dreams. But this is not a normal year—October 7th made sure of that.
Although the types of messages in the Torah are different than those of today, you can imagine what ancient messages might have looked like with today’s technology. Perhaps the visual cue of the ram in a thicket would come as an animated GIF on Abraham’s iPhone. Maybe Noah would have been alerted about the flood with an emergency broadcast system notification.
It's only human to have desires and wants, but it’s also human to find and remain in balance with the world around us. We too can be dreamers, as long as we don’t forget our reality along the way.
Rebekah, the mother of twins Jacob and Esau, teaches us the value of recognizing individual needs and talents in our children and making choices that support them.
This talk has evolved from an initial focus on the Israel Gaza to emphasize instead the spiking levels of antisemitism here in America. Despite this shift in focus, the thematic content of this parshah, Chayei Sarah, could not be more pertinent while Israel buries its 1300 slain family members and continues its war against Hamas.
