Torah for now

Hidden in Plain Sight

February 26, 2026

This coming week is the festival of Purim, in which the scroll of Esther is read. In a crucial scene, the book’s male protagonist, Mordechai refuses to bow to the arrogant Vizier of Persia. Due to this arrogance, the Vizier plots revenge against all Mordechai’s people, the Jews. We wear costumes, and are commanded to get fragrant levasumei in Hebrew (with wine?) until we can’t tell the difference between ‘cursed be the bad guy’, Haman in this case, and blessed be Mordechai! Interestingly the entire book of Esther is political satire against the powers that were: It begins with the King’s 180 day drinking party, the only rule is “no rules” and when it ends the King declares … another party!

Earlier this week, during Vizier’s state of the Union Address to congress, a woman of color refused to sit down when told, to silently protest the use of racism in the policies and speech. She was arrested and manhandled, re-injuring a shoulder which was injured in a January by federal agents. Story here. We are badly in need of political satire, to laugh at the impossible and cruel way of the rich and powerful, and along comes Purim. (I call Purim the “Jewish mardi gras”)

This week’s Torah reading begins with G8d saying: command the Israelites to bring clear beaten oil from olives to keep a light burning at night in the Mishkan the portable sanctuary, and to light it each and every night upon the golden menorah that looks like an almond tree. The original night light is where no one can see it: within the Tent of Meeting in the mishkan’s innermost chamber. It then goes on to speak of the inspired tailors who should be chosen to make the “uniforms” of those who will serve G8d in this traveling sanctuary, and to spell out the materials and specifics of the wardrobe.

Hidden beauty and Passion connects all of these things: The menorah, the Holiday of Purim, the robes of the Kohen Gadol

  1. Hiddenness in the Menorah: The olive contains within it the pure oil hidden within it. The olives are like the Israelites who are bidden to bring the olives, and who have within them pure fuel, passion in faith and to love one another and to love G8d. From the combination of wick and olive oil will emerge flame – also a hidden potential within the fuel, the flame lets out the beauty that was always there. Hidden in the design of the menorah itself is the pattern of an almond tree. There was worship of a tree Goddess in Biblical times, Asherah was her name, until the time Josiah uncovered the book of Deuteronomy and it was outlawed. Hidden in placement, the menorah is within the innermost center of the mishkan, where only the kohanim and G8d can see it! I suggest: don’t hide your flame, but don’t let it consume you either
  2. Hiddenness in the holiday of Purim: So many things are hidden in the Book of Esther: starting with Esther’s name, which means “hidden”. She hides her Hebrew name and her Jewishness, she is hidden within the palace, G8d’s name is hidden in the book, it does not appear. Esther hides her intentions after she approaches the king, taking a subtle tack. We wear masks which both hide who we are, and reveal hidden identities waiting to come out. We hide our serious, judgemental side for the day. We are bidden to be silly, to play, to let it “all hang out”
  3. Hiddenness in the clothing of the Kohanim (priests) This one seems a bit more obvious: Clothing hides the “human animal” giving dignity, artistic flair, both concealing who we are and revealing it. The clothing of the Kohanim is supposed to somehow transform them into creatures worthy of representing the community to G8d, and being able to withstand the presence of G8d. The voice of G8d will then come from that potential space between the K’ruvim Golden cherubs who spread their wings over the arc of the pact. But as we know from history and today’s headlines, some seek the power that the uniform, the fancy clothing conveys, and are nothing but a human animal within their clothes. Others have imposter syndrome and don’t feel worthy although they are.

Back to the headlines: Many leaders in the world wear the trappings of Dignity and Leadership, yet inside is the only same craving of power we know from Biblical times. A story by Reb Nachman of Bretzlov tells of the son of King who is convinced he is a Turkish bird, strips all his clothing, retreats under the table and refuses to do or say anything except for pecking grain under the table. Feel free to read here. In one version of the story, the prince still crows every once in awhile. How much do the trappings of dignity, honor and rule make a person that way? How much do they hide the hypocrisy inside? Which of us is exempt from this self examination? It seems that history is reflecting the text of Torah and Esther this week. May G8d’s rules of justice and kindness be revealed through our actions, in this time of hidden things.

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Make me a sanctuary so I may Dwell in your midst

February 17, 2026

The awe, and the trembling and the fire are over in this week’s Torah reading, Teruma (meaning gifts to the sanctuary). The reading, and much of the rest of Exodus are instructions for building a portable tent/sanctuary to take G8d with them. This sanctuary would be made together, from Divine design, from donations given from the hearts of those who were moved and inspired. As I was preparing for this post, I re-read a story I had told from awhile back that moved me and meant something different this time. It’s about a young man in search of G8d, who leaves his parents upon hearing of a wonderful Rebbe to journey and learn the secrets of finding G8d. When he arrives at the Rebbe’s house, the kindly Rebbe tells him “Dovid, you’re not ready yet. First built a house to live in, then return and we shall talk further” He tells his story, makes friends, and together they help him build a house. But, of course, when Dovid returns the wise teacher has another task: get yourself a job, and then another and another. After awhile, Dovid has a new life with friends, a new family, a career. With his advice, Dovid finds G8d, not in the starry heavens, but in the loving, supportive network of the relationships in his life – the sum total of them is sublime and Divine. Don’t get me wrong, G8d is both immanent and transcendent: in the starry heavens as well as in the loving bonds between friends and family and the earth and G8d.

The verse in Terumah that is so inspiring is God’s command to the Israelites: Build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. It doesn’t say “that I may dwell in it”, rather “in them” The human heart is one place G8d can dwell, or in the relationships among members of the families and communities. But what occurred to me for the first time, is that our lives can be a mishkan, a sanctuary through time: The years of our lives can be the mishkan ! If we are open to letting G8d in, open to the hearts and faces of the people we encounter our very lives can be a holy space. What do you think – How can we accomplish this?

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Love the immigrant?!

February 9, 2026

In Exodus chapter 24, Moshe, Aaron, Nadav and Avihu as well as 70 elders Ascend and SEE G8D! Just what led up to this?

Many laws and rules, of Mishpatim, including the first time that we are commanded (out of 36 times according to Rashi) not to oppress the ger, the immigrant. Sources here This command not to harm is repeated in this week’s reading, eventually evolving into the repeated command to love the immigrant. No other love is commanded twice by G8d! The term “ger”, has been variously translated. It means the one who does not come from the land, not native, ie. an immigrant. (Rabbi Shai Held)

Why and How: Why does G8d command love, and How can we cultivate love? The answer to the first question is given in the text: because we were immigrants, and we were oppressed. The command repeated more often than any other mitzvah is what is the take-away from our experiences of oppression. “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that” says the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, and “The only thing stronger than hate is love” was flashed on the Superbowl halftime screen. Not an easy pathway. We know the “soul” the feeling of being the oppressed outsider, with no-one to defend ourselves against the powers that be. Perhaps you, like I, knew that feeling at public school (beautifully shown in the animated film Inside Out) The Jewish people have been refugees for a couple of thousand years. Forced to flee the home that we could not abide due to oppression, hatred, taxed into abject poverty, rounded up into concentration camps, we fled. We have had reason to be angry and insular “What do you do with the mad that you feel,… when the whole wide world seems oh so wrong and nothing you do seems very right?” asks Mr. Rogers. The enslaved could turn to oppressors. It is easy to fall -as abused children grow into abusers and pit bulls into monsters. This is why the command not to oppress is repeated so often.

But what of the second question: how can you cultivate love? A pathway has been placed within the same Torah reading: to do loving deeds, and then we will be able to hear G8d’s voice. First, a little background as to where we are in the Torah saga. Two weeks ago in Exodus we were redeemed at the Sea of Reeds against all odds. Three months later, we stood at Mount Sinai and received the first Ten offerings from the Voice of the Holy One. Unable to withstand the intensity of Revelation, The people ask Moses to go up alone to get the rest of G8d’s instructions. Now we get a whole bunch of criminal and civil laws, including the first two instances of not oppressing the immigrant. At the end of this week’s reading, Exodus:24 Moses and Aaron and 70 elders will ascend the mountain part way and bow from afar. Moses arranges sacrifices to represent a covenant, and reads the laws of the covenant to the people. The people respond in a that has sparked much commentary through the ages: All that G8d has spoken, we will do and we will hear. (Exodus 24:8) Such faith did they show, that the “doing” would precede the hearing. This is the answer that the text provides: Love first, and we will be able to hear everything better: we will understand “being in someone else’s shoes” we will gain empathy AND we will be able to more deeply experience a spiritual life. Proof-text for this is Exodus where Moshe (Moses) Aharon (Aaron), Aharon’s sons and 70 elders SEE the Blessed Holy one (Exodus 24:10). First love, see the divine in the immigrant’s face, then more love will follow. And perhaps when we climb our own life’s mountains, we can even glimpse the Divine Presence.

An original song, dedicated to 5 year old Liam Conejo Ramos, Age 5, forced to lead agents to his family’s door

LOVE THE IMMIGRANT Miryam Wolfson

A little boy cries in the icy night

Though they hear him no one comes to hold him tight

No one makes it right, or reunites

The world seems too big and too cold

Without Papa beside him to hold  

Love the immigrant, they are not below you

Love the immigrant, you know their soul

Hear their cries and know

You can be part of the healing, 

To make things whole

Naaseh v’nishma, We will help and then truly hear

When we comfort and dry the tears 

It can open the way

To be free, to live in dignity

Naaseh v’nishma,  

Let us open our hearts and our minds

Cause there will always be mountains to climb

We can truly be there, 

even gather a glimpse of Divine

Love the immigrant, they are not below you

Love the immigrant, we know their soul

Hear their cries and know

we  must be part of the healing, 

make ourselves whole

You already know how it goes don’t you remember,

We were refugees enslaved by tyranny

You’ve heard this song before

You’ve been so far from safety, from home

You know what it’s like

To be an outcast,scared and alone.

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On Eagle’s wings: Torah of the hands.

February 5, 2026

This week in Torah we read about the encounter on a mountain in the desert of Sinai.

I have a favorite verse in the lead up to revelation, Ex 19:4

“You yourselves have seen
what I did to Egypt,
how I bore you on eagles’ (or more likely condor’s/vulture’s) wings and brought you to me”.

Yes, aquatic birds, such as ducks and swans and coots do carry their nestlings on their backs. Condors, hawks and eagles don’t literally. (Check out these sweet images from Animals Daily). It does remind me of the trips across the ocean many of our grandparents took, and many are still taking, to the safety of foreign shores for the sake of their children The term for eagle’s wings in Hebrew is kanfei n’sharim. The word kanaf is found in the third paragraph of the Shema, where we are commanded to place a thread of blue on the fringes of the kanaf! Birds don’t carry their young through the sky, but our tallit, with its “wings” just might, if the journey is a spiritual one. Uplifted by feeling the Presence of the Holy One of Blessing, we can live this beautiful metaphor. The fact that it’s poetic metaphor the words: “you have all seen”. Our eyes can fool us, we will soon see the thunder at Sinai.

And indeed, according to Midrash (Mehilta Ex 15:2) the least of the slave girls who crossed the Sea of Reeds saw more than the prophet Ezekiel did in his crazy psychedelic visions!* Following this intimate encounter, the folks who experienced Redemption at the sea travel for three days to camp in a place called Refidim. There they complain to Moshe of thirst, and sarcastically ask if there weren’t enough graves in Egypt that he had to lead them to this wilderness. Their complaints have been seen as lacking not water, but Torah of their hands! According to Or HaChayim, (Morocco, 1700s) Refidim is an allusion to רפיון ידים R’fiyon yadayim, or “slacking of the hands” from Torah. What kind of Torah do you do with your hands? Perhaps caring for one another! They have not yet arrived at Sinai, so have not actually heard Torah revealed yet.

We have been carried on The Wings of G8d, protected, borne skyward, inspired. But we will die of thirst if we don’t walk the talk. We have reached Sinai, but there are warnings: “don’t climb the mountain, or even touch it” Why should there be limits on connecting to the Holy One? Midrash says we were all standing at Sinai, not just those standing there that day, but those not even born yet. We all heard the voice of G8d speak the Ten Important Things, or at least the first letter, and we all had the synesthetic experience: All the people saw the thunder! We were all amateur prophets. But in the same way that Jacob never climbs his ladder, we are not to climb Sinai. There must be limits on the mountain perhaps because we’d get stuck there and forget to care for the widow, orphan and the immigrant. The Torah of the hands is crucial, and accepting limitations is hard to grapple with. When Moshe burns with the fire of inspiration at the beginning of his journey, the miracle of the “burning bush” is that it is not consumed or destroyed by the burning. The world needs a lot of healing. There is a lot to be fearful of and angry at. Please take good care to not let these feelings consume. Perhaps the joy of flight can, balanced by the “Torah of the Hands” Can help.

*An amazing modern midrash gives voice and name to this “least of the slave girls” in Rabbi Jill Hammer’s book Sisters at Sinai

Source page on Sefaria

A condor in flight. A Nesher in Hebrew is similar. This is a California condor, which is, G8d-willing, being brought back from the very brink of extinction by

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14740-vulture

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Bo – come to Pharoah’s house

January 21, 2026

Puzzlingly, Moshe was asked, not to go to Pharoah, but to come. I did not go to my mother’s funeral/ levaya rathercame home full circle and accompanied my mother home: the Hebrew word levaya means to accompany. I come home to love, to music, to childhood, the four year old within me that loves mommy with all her heart. Bo, the name of the Torah reading for this week Begin’s with the eighth plague, that of locusts who are carried in by the east wind and take away all the nourishment that the hail did not destroy. Bo is spelled Bet, Aleph, the first two letters of the Aleph bet arranged backwards. I always wondered why this reading begins with the eight plague. Perhaps this: seven is completion, and represents the the seven lower sephirot, or aspects, of the Holy One of Blessing. The number Eight, as I’ve discussed before is extraordinary nature of what lies beyond this completion. The final sephirot are the upper ones, beyond understanding, mysterious, which began creation according to Zohar,* our book of Mysticism. Consider that each plague undoes creation in one aspect, until order is undone piece by piece. The eighth sephirah is Bina, understanding Let me digress, I will come back to the undoing of wisdom. Another thought, According to Meyor Einayim, it was Torah that was in exile (Sources here) Pehaps the linking of the aspects of G8d, the sephirot is to bring back (to come) G8d, into that land, undoing Egypt, replacing the Powers that be with those of G8d -“great kindness, truth, compassion…” (from the 13 attributes of G8d) which were in exile.

The “hardening” of the heart of the tyrant is described with three different verbs, and begins with Pharaoh hardening his own heart. In Exodus 10:1, getting into the rut of abuse happens. On an episode of Hidden Brain, Shankar Vidantam interviewed a doctor who helped athletes obtain steroids illegally. The first time was so hard, but it was easier to break the law each time. By now, the tyrant must know that his people were suffering, half of their grain and most of their animals were gone from disease and hail. This time, Exodus 10:1 tells, explicitly, and in the first person, G8d tells, “I will make Pharaoh’s heart and those of his advisors heavy (stubborn). Pharaoh must overcome fear and common sense to not let the Israelites free, and to accept the consequences of the rest of their food being destroyed. The locusts, which I’ve discussed before here, darken the land . The verb in this verse does not mean harden, rather Kaf, vet, Dalet, which means to “Make heavy” but also shares a root with “to honor” The tyrant was able to ignore his compassion and his fear and to choose instead to follow only the desires of his own heart, his pride, his ego.  “The beginning of wisdom is “yirat HaShem” the awe/fear of G8d.(Proverbs 9:10) This means fear of doing wrong, or of taking the consequences of your foolish headstrong actions. This “making heavy of the heart” is an undoing of wisdom- the only way Pharaoh would behave in such an unreasonable and dis-compassionate manner had to be a Divine act in Biblical eyes. (Wisdom is the 8th of the sefirot, Locusts are the 8th plague!)

Why does G8d strengthen and honor and harden the hearts of Pharaoh and his advisors, but not those who are suffering, the Egyptian populace? Don’t their hearts need protection- don’t our hearts need help when we are frightened? Instead the Holy One inclines the hearts of the populace toward the slaves in compassion, and many join them in escaping Egypt. When the Israelites ask for reparations, and gifts, the hearts of the Egyptians, which had felt such trauma were softened enough to be generous, and start this beginning nation with resources.

*IT emanated from the most concealed of all concealed things (Keter/crown)- from the secret of the Endlessness Light – took a shapeless form. THE SPARK (Chochmah/wisdom) was then inserted into THE CENTER OF a circle (Bina/understanding) ~Zohar 1:1

Bo – come. Today I came home, approaching that tyrant, “Death” by thanking the Holy One of Blessing for life. Death’s heart is truly hard, but only when my heart is softened can I find the riches of music, love and blessing.

Eulogy to my mother, Gloria, child of Charley and Bertie

Midrash explains there are three souls present at each conception, the father, the mother and Shechinah the indwelling presence of G8d. A personal prayer, O Holy One of blessing thank you, Modah ani, for bringing me into the world through my Mom. She was Gevuradich a strong woman, a woman of valor. The gifts she gave me were priceless – my own strength and resilience, and the ability to be who I am.

Thank you for accepting me as I was, and my kids. You never tried to mold me in your image or force me to be anything but myself, with one exception, Music. I had to sneak listening to the Beatles with a transistor radio under the covers Instead you immersed me in the rich and beautiful worlds of jazz and classical music, thank you!

Thank you for showing me how to pursue something you loved passionately- with all your heart and soul, and all! You weren’t just a baseball fan, you were dubbed the Queen of Queens, by Steve Overmyer, and honored by the Mets, by throwing out the first pitch. You didn’t just love mystery novels, you reviewed a thousand of them in a published blog and got to meet the authors.

And when the crucible of time and disease melted you down to your essence it was pure love and music. We had a language we could communicate with beyond any words: For you I leanred the lyrics to many songs in the great American song book When I sang with you we could access joy together. The last words my mother spoke to me were written by Irving Berlin 101 years ago, I share them with you now, one last time. Song: Always

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Journeys, Joy and “Smichah”

January 13, 2026

A few days ago, I became a Rabbi and a Hazzan, (Cantor). It was an incredibly joyful experience, surrounded by family and kindred spirits. Here is the recording. (the first 15 minutes is music). I had few expectations of what it would feel like, however, because my outlook is and has been: “it’s the journey which is the destination”. This ceremony, these titles were never destinations in my heart, it was the learning, the elevating of self, which enables elevating of others. These experiences in the 9.5 years since I began learning through the Aleph Ordination program, and the internships to become who I am now has been profoundly, surprising and life changing. I never want to stop learning, and yearning toward G8d, toward justice, toward self improvement, and being an enabler of healing, joy, comfort and uplift for others. The ordination ceremony is meant to be a moment of transformation, from a layperson to a clergy person. It involves the laying on of hands, “Smichah” in Hebrew, from teacher to students, while proclaiming the ancient formula. (It reminded me a bit of the Vulcan mind meld: “now your thoughts are my thoughts” but in reverse!) Now this unbroken lineage included me – I was a part of a chain going back through time, that included all of my former study partners who had already passed through the portal, and our ancestors. I was also bonded to this group of 17 candidates who had studied together or sang together over the years, crafted this service. We had even written a prayer together, been nervous, and received blessings together. And to the incredible teachers and mentors who had paved my way and encouraged me. THAT was the transformation, not individually who I was, but what I had become a part of beyond myself.

For those who asked, this is the source of Shabbat Minchah drash, on this week’s Torah reading “Va’era” and the 65 words that I spoke during the Rabbi’s comments were drawn from.

I am a now Rabbi and a Hazzan, and hope, like Esther to know that I’ve been put in this position to influence things for the good.

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Joy is required: Who are these?

January 1, 2026

The setting is Ancient Egypt. Father Yaakov (Jacob) has come to Egypt and spent the past 17 years finally “settling” down. He was denied this peace for the prior 20 years while he was in mourning for his beloved son, Yoseph (Joseph) Midrash says that G8d’s presence left him, and he had no power of prophecy during this time. Only when father and son are reunited does the presence return: in other words when joy returns, so does G8d’s presence. How important is joy? Psalm 100 describes the joy of gratitude, as Yaakov must have felt

“A psalm of gratitude; Rejoice for G8D, all the earth;(2) serve the Holy in gladness;come into the Divine presence with shouts of joy!”

This week’s reading happens on Yaakov’s death bed. Joseph is coming to see him. Joseph his favorite son, now looks and acts Egyptian. One Midrash tells that it is Yoseph’s Egyptian wife, Poti Phera, that sends him to his father to bless the sons. Yaakov is told his sons and grandsons are visiting, and the elderly prophet sits up in his bed. He recaps some of his inspirations (G8d speaks to him) and heartbreaks (Rachel died on me!). Then the surprising question when his grandsons are brought close: “Who are these?” Tradition is that Yaakov’s been hanging out with his grandsons studying Torah for the past 17 years. Is it possible he doesn’t recognize them?

Rashi says he’s balking due to evil kings that will come from their descendants,

Or haChayim adds that he asks to arouse feelings of love in his son before the blessing.

I recognize the heartache of Dementia in conversations with my Mom who hasn’t knows her grandchildren in awhile. The text does say that Yaakov was ill. Midrash says it was the first time an illness preceeded death in the Torah, and that Yaakov actually asks for this to prime his death bed speech.

In last week’s reading both Yehudah (Judah) and Yoseph define who they were.”Anochi E’er’venu “I will be his pledge” says Yehuda, Ani Yoseph “I am Yoseph!” exclaims the Egyptian vizeir! and (See Vayigash) and everything changes. In Genesis G8d asks Adam “Where are you?” Ayecha in Hebrew. G8d asks Kayin, “Where is your Brother?” Perhaps Yaakov is asking to see how his son will define his grandsons. The prelude to blessing the grandsons mentions G8d, and a homeland now abandoned, not just by Yoseph, but by the entire family saying: (Gen 48:3) God Shaddai was seen by me in Luz, in the land of Canaan; he blessed me” Perhaps this is a test of the bond between Father, son and G8d. If it’s a test, Joseph passes, because grandfather does bestow the blessing, gifting them his angels of protection, and a sense of family rootedness (Gen 48:16) What is Yoseph’s response? In Genesis 48:9 “Yosef said to his father: They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” In this land there is G8d too. In this land the blessing of children.

“Then Yaakov called his sons and said:
Gather round, that I may tell you
what will befall you in the aftertime of days.”

Rashi: He wanted to reveal the end of days and the Divine Presence left him, so he began saying other matters

Thirteen very different sons. How can they make a unity, a family? Mi Eileh? Who are these – plural, this is not one-ness? Do I recognize the people my children have grown up to be? Can family unity be restored? It must be hard, when Yaakov looks at his sons and sees the violence and betrayal of his older sons, he can no longer be joyful. There is a happy ending (even though Yaakov dies in this week’s reading) As we move from genesis 49: 7-8, curses become blessings. and by verse

28: All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve,
and this is what their father spoke to them;
he blessed them,
according to what belonged to each as blessing, he blessed them.

Yaakov’s sons are mythical, they have animal logos, they are the 12 signs of the zodiac in many ancient synagogues. Together the 12 zodiac signs make a complete year, as together the 12 tribes make a nation. Out of many One? E pluribus unim “out of many one” Where is it written? On the capital rotunda .. Opposite George Washington is the banner E Pluribus Unum, Latin for “out of many, one”… Where else? Never has the American or Jewish world been so fractured in my lifetime. Parents and children are at odds: conflicts over Israel are tearing families apart. I pray we can look beyond theses obstacles to the good heart and soul of our family. May joy and blessing return. They are what will get us through to difficult times, to the future.

Source page on Sefaria

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Speaking Truth to Power

December 26, 2025

A New calendar new year approaches. Perhaps we think about New Years resolutions, What are some of yours? Can we really change? What must the foundation be for our change? Perhaps theses 3 steps: Admit our truth, our imperfections, learn from experience, speak: redefining who we are out loud.

What about bigger changes of making the world a more just and kind place?

That also requires recognizing our common errors, and speaking truth to power. This week’s news saw truth under attack. A news story by 60 minutes was pulled that was so painful to watch. Climate change science is being removed from government websites. Everything is not ok. To the voice in me that says “People don’t change, and the powers that be are too strong: why should we even try?” Torah comes at this time of year to show us, yes, people, can and do change. And when they present their truth from the heart, everything can change.

This week we read the climax of the Joseph saga in Parashat Vayigash in Hebrew, meaning “and he drew close”. It is the face off between two brothers: Yehuda in one corner, and Yoseph/ tzaphenat in the other

Yoseph

In Gen 41:45, last week’s parasha:

And Pharaoh called Yosef’s name: Tzafenat Pane’ah/The God Speaks and He Lives,
and he gave him Asenat, daughter of Poti Fera, priest of On, as a wife.
And Yosef’s [influence] went out over the land of Egypt (Gen 41:45)

Pharoah gives him a name and makes a match-a wife, things a parent does

Tzaphenat dresses like Pharoah, speaks Egyptian, pretends not to understand Hebrew, has a divining cup, He names his firstborn Menashe/He-Who-Makes-me Forget,
meaning: God has made-me-forget all my hardships, all my father’s house. (Gen 41:51) Joseph even enslaves people, they are forced to give up everything, becoming serfs in exchange for the rations he has saved in preparation for the famine. He enslaves one of his own brothers, Simeon, until they return with beloved Benjamin. Even in power, he does not send a messenger to his father!

What about brother Judah? He’s the one who said “let’s sell him as a slave” He is not the firstborn, Reuben is, Yet it is he that steps forward in this, the climax of the Joseph story. This approach was not something the old Yehudah could do! The one who guarded his terrible secret, and had no empathy for either his brother, or his father, who was inconsolable thinking Yoseph had died. Yehudah contains the letters of G8d in his name יְהוּדָה YHUDH. He is the one tribe of Israelites whose kingdom survived, named the Lion by his father’s blessing.

Yehuda approaches Yoseph who he believes Is the grand vizier of Egypt, akin Pharoah: he draws near. Proverbs 27:19

(19)As face answers to face in water,So does one’s heart to another’s.

Emmanuel Levinas teaches us that only by recognizing the face of the other can humanity survive. I always thought it was a drawing near in love, by appealing to love to reunite a family. But the commentators knew differently. This is a chutzpadick approach, this took courage, this was war!

See Rashi 44:18:3, S’forno and Or haChayim 44:18:1

Yehuda’s speech is found Here

Here is my aha moment, reading the comments this time around:

Judah’s approach to Pharoah foreshadows Moses’ approach to a different Pharoah 400 years later, a Pharoah who did not know Yoseph. That Judah’s redefining himself accroding to his personal truth is what leads to Yoseph defining himself: I am Yoseph! Od avinu Chai: does my father live?

Judah has shown us that change is indeed possible. But for his internal change to change outside conditions, he must reveal his truth, and have the courage to go Face to Face with the powers that be. Those powers happen to be his brother Joseph in a deep masquerade. Judah’s truth reaches down to pull the truth from Joseph’s deep well. Each brother defines himself by his words. May we define ourselves according to our deepest truths, and bring about the change needed in our fractured world

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Vayishlach

December 5, 2025

Jacob crosses the Jabboc River, only to wrestle with a mysterious man all night until the break of dawn, and the dislocation of Jacob’s hip. “Release me!” cries the man. “Not until you bless me” answers Jacob. A midrash says the Angel/wrestler man’s name was Yisrael, and he gave Jacob his own name. Another Midrash says he wrestled with his twin brother Esav’s guardian angel Sammael. Meanwhile what has happened to Jacob’s fortune and livestock? He has divided them, sending troves of gifts to his brother, and keeping the most precious to cross last. Except for daughter Dina, who, the midrash says is hidden in a box, to keep her from marriage to Esav! Jacob and Esav seem to embrace, say they’ll stay together but do not. Jacob also delays fulufilling his vow of returning to his father’s house and to Beth El, house of God, Instead he sojourns at Shechem. The rape of Dina, and the slaughter of Shechem by Shimon and Levi follow. Oy. Read more here!

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Vayetzei: A Ladder BETWEEN Heaven and Earth

November 24, 2025

There is a concept of Torah being written in black fire upon white fire. The black letters are limited, but in the spaces between the letters, there is unlimited meaning in connecting words and concepts to one another. An example of this white fire can be found in making meaning from Jacob’s ladder as a relationship between heaven and earth, and in the words, finding the relationship between twin brothers. In Genesis, Chapter 28, Jacob, in fleeing Canaan, finds G8d in a geographic place between Canaan and Haran. There is a ladder between Heaven and earth, and Jacob realizes G8d is in this liminal space. He later sees G8d in the face of his brother, and in re-establishing this relationship is able to return home to his fate and calling. Even his new name Yisrael is a relational one: Yisrael, meaning to wrestle with beings Divine and Human

SONG: BETWEEN, 2011

Linked on sound cloud above.

Written as commentary to the Biblical portion including Jacob’s Ladder: Between, 2013.

Take my hand and help me climb

I’ve been in the depths below

Why am I here among all these broken hearts

OK, it’s my own heart,

Has been so hollow, I’ll admit

How can I climb,

Help me see beyond

My own four walls

Chorus:

Life happens in the space between;

And there are Angels going up and going down.

You are that angel;

Helping me to see the way to climb free.

Every rung is made of love and gravity;

Helps me to return the favor done me;

Jacob, he ran to the wilderness

Leaving behind security

In the quest for superiority

He made his brother his enemy

But Jacob don’t you know, that it’s brothers that we need

 Maybe between is all we ever have:

Between heaven and earth, between death and birth;

Between you and me, G8d’s presence rests;

Helping us find our way in the wilderness.

Jacob never climbs the ladder in between

So did he miss the point of his great dream?

G8d was in this place though it did not seem

It would take struggling so supreme

To help him realize that dream

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