Why might kindness be perceived as weakness, and what does Avraham’s response teach us? In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Leon Morris examine Avraham’s moral decisions in Parshat Vayera, focusing on the qualities that led to the downfall of…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
Do we allow our pursuit of spirituality to get in the way of true divine connection? In this week’s episode of Pardes from Jerusalem, Yiscah Smith and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield discuss Parshat Vayera through the lens of human and divine…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
Are we blinded by our reading of the text? When we read about characters that are often portrayed negatively, such as Ishmael, are we truly giving them a chance? And what about our heroes? Are we allowing figures, such as…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
Parashat VaYera 5782: Human Sacrifice – Problematic or Profound? Description: Why would Avraham’s 10th and final test be to participate in a cruel and despicable act of human sacrifice which blended him with the polythe,istic and immoral world that surrounded…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
This week’s parasha contrasts two acts of hospitality: Avraham welcomes three strangers to his tent at Elonei Mamrei, and Lot later welcomes two of them to his home in Sodom. Superficially, the episodes are similar but we will discover that…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
This week, I share a short passage from a book by Uriel Simon, one of Israel’s leading Modern-Orthodox bible professors. I have found his reading of the Akeida quite powerful and it resonates with me. This week we read the…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Educator resources, Meaning-making, Vayera
In this podcast we will re-read the Akedah and wonder whether the story might have ended differently, for Abraham, Isaac, Sarah and even for God, if Abraham had chosen to protest or challenge the command. Download the Source Sheet Please…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
Bob Dylan’s dark song, Highway 61, is actually an extended midrash on the story of the binding of Isaac. In this podcast, Rabbi David Levin-Kruss explicates the biblical roots of the song and connects it to what was happening in…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
“In Parshat Vayera, Avraham and Sarah are old and past when they think they will be able to have children. Suddenly, as Avraham is sitting at the opening of his tent, he looks up and sees three men appear. He…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Educator resources, Meaning-making, Vayera
The Pardes Parsha Discussion is a weekly series by faculty member Rabbi Alex Israel, designed to stimulate discussion around the Shabbat table, especially with teenagers. Click here to download and print this week’s Parsha Discussion on Vayera: Don’t Curb your…
Personalities, Biblical personalities, Educator resources, Meaning-making, Tanakh, Torah
How can the very same Abraham who risks everything and challenges God in order to save Sodom comply obediently with the morally abhorrent command to kill his son? In part 2, Rabbi Hammer-Kossoy presents Rav Abraham Joshua Heschel’s suggestion that the…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
How can the very same Abraham who risks everything and challenges God in order to save Sodom comply obediently with the morally abhorrent command to kill his son? In part 1, Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy explores the approaches of Rav Joseph Soloveitchik…
Tanakh, Torah, Bereishit (Genesis), Vayera
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