Judaism

Torah

Blessing the People With Love and Joy

Local

Does Birthright Stifle Teen Travel?

Shavuot

Synagogues Celebrate New Arrivals

Torah

Just What Did People of Sodom, Gomorrah Do?

By:

Joshua Runyan

VAYERA, Genesis 18:1-22:24 This week's Torah portion contains one of the most famous occurrences of divine punishment, ranking right up there with the flood and the Tower of Babel: the destruction of several cities and the saving of Abraham's nephew Lot. Ask any child which cities were destroyed, and he or she will tell you that it was only Sodom...

Torah

Traveling to New Places Can Be Inward Journey

By:

Rabbi Danielle Stillman

LECH LECHA, Genesis 12:1-17:25 "Lech Lecha! Go forth." These are the words that God speaks to Abraham at the beginning of this week's portion. With that, the drama of the patriarchs and matriarchs is put into motion -- Abraham's wanderings, Sara's barrenness, the birth of Ishmael -- all begin in this portion. But I am most captivated by those opening...

Torah

It Begins Rather Darkly, but There's Light Ahead

By:

Rabbi Howard A. Addison

Noach, Genesis 6:9-11:32 "Why," asks the Slonimer Rebbe, "does the Torah begin with so many accounts of degradation?" Both this week's sedra and its predecessor are rife with accounts of faithlessness, murder, violence, perversion and hubris. No sooner do we leave Bereshit's narrative of humanity's expulsion from Paradise and Cain's murder of Abel then we are greeted by Noah's story...

Tradition

Reforming the Chant

Some traditions at play at Main Line synagogue

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

With a tallit draped over his shoulders and a guitar resting on his lap, Rabbi Ethan Franzel sat, eyes closed and completely still, in the dimly lit chapel at Main Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim in Wynnewood. At 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning, darkness still enveloped the sky; the lights in the rest of the building hadn't even been turned on...

Torah

Unlocking the Beauty and Power of 'Genesis'

By:

Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell

BERESHIT, Genesis 1:1-6:8 Do you remember the first time you ever looked up into the heavens on a dark night and discovered that the sky was full of twinkling, magical stars? Whatever your age -- whether you were alone or with a sibling, holding the hand of a parent or other trusted adult -- do you remember your awe at...