Yesterday, England approved the distribution of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine against Covid19 as the first batch of the vaccine was sent to the UK from Belgium. Earlier in the week, a colleague reached out because one of their congregants had claimed that Judaism does not permit people to take vaccines because they are (often) derived from animals, and therefore are not kosher.
What I find most remarkable about Jacob and Esau's moment of reconciliation is that apparently both Jacob and Esau have decided to let bygones be bygones. They don’t bring up their rocky past or ask for any sort of closure. They are simply able to embrace one another as siblings, and let it go.
As we approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you one of our tradition's beloved stories. It is the only Jewish story I know which features a turkey, and that makes it seem appropriate for this week. I hope you will enjoy this video.
Has anyone reminded you to make sure you’re wearing clean underwear? If you’re like me, you’ve had it drilled into you that no matter what, when you leave the house, always make sure you’re covered for any eventuality. If there’s an accident or an emergency, you want to be not only prepared, but presentable.
Friends, I don’t know about you, but the recent news from Pfizer and Moderna did me a world of good. Yes, it will still be quite a long time before vaccine production can be scaled up sufficiently so that we can return to a semblance of the life we all knew before this pandemic. I liken it to the old aphorism of the light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s strange that I never let my car gas tank go below a quarter tank, for fear that I might get stranded somewhere, but when it comes to my own physical and spiritual health, I don't always pay enough attention to how close I am to empty. A helpful lesson from Parshat Toldot.
I have been reading a memoir about home by author David Biespiel. If you are unfamiliar with him, David is an acclaimed author, poet and memoirist who lives in SE Portland and is the Poet in Residence at OSU.
