Drops of Torah from our members

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Drops of Torah from our members (2024-25 / 5785)

We all have the capacity to share our wisdom and reflections about the Torah texts we read each week. The Congregation Beth Israel Drops of Torah project provides an opportunity for people to share a brief reflection or short insight about the week's Torah portion. These short pieces are written by our members with support from our rabbis (as needed). Our plan is to have members reflect on 1/9 of a Torah portion each week so that in nine years we will have commented on the whole Torah! Beth Israel follows the Israeli Torah reading calendar which sometimes differs from the Conservative and Orthodox Torah reading calendar outside of Israel but will always sync up before the end of the Torah reading year. Consider signing up for a drop of Torah. For more information, contact Rabbi Nathan Martin.

A Drop of Torah From Rabbi Elyse

Intention
As we begin again, reading from the first verses of the Torah, let us remember that every day, every moment, we have the opportunity to start anew in our lives.

Commentary
Shabbat Bereishit, the Sabbath on which we start reading the creation story, always feels odd. We’ve just finished the celebration and observance of so many important holidays marking so much: the beginning of the year, the opportunity to atone and become absolved of our wrongdoings, the celebration of the harvest, and the celebration of the Torah itself. After all that, a regular Shabbat can feel somewhat dull and uninspiring. But this week, we read some of the most extraordinary words in the Torah, “In the beginning, God created….” The creation of the world and all its potential is everything. Everything! And everything includes the mundane and the ordinary. Our liturgy reminds us that “God renews creation every day.” That means that the awesomeness of creation is always present - including in the mundane and ordinary - like eating a regular meal not in a Sukkah, washing and putting away our holiday linens, and showing up for an ordinary Shabbat. With the beginning of our ordinary reading of the Torah, we have the opportunity to see awesomeness and glimpses of holiness everywhere. (Return to Top)

Shabbat Noach by Rabbi Elyse

Intention
May we see in the rainbow, set as a sign of God’s covenant with all of humanity, that no one is unworthy or undeserving of the opportunity for a safe and prosperous life. Whenever we see or imagine a rainbow, we remember that no one should be left behind.

Commentary
At the end of the flood story, God makes a covenant with humanity to never again destroy God’s creation. As a sign of this covenant, God places a rainbow in the sky. Why a rainbow of all things? In our contemporary world, rainbows are associated with diversity and pride, particularly in the LGBTQ community. It turns out that this modern understanding is not foreign to Jewish thought. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th century Germany) suggested that each color of the rainbow represented a different kind of person. Put together, the rainbow colors make pure white light, representing God’s purity. The only way humanity can create a close connection with God is if all of us, every kind of person on the planet, is present. (Return to Top)

Lekh Lekha by Amy Strauss

Intention
May we be open to moving from a place of comfort to try something new

Commentary
In this Torah portion, God told Abraham to leave his home and place of birth and go to the land of Caan. Lecht -lecha comes from the Hebrew word meaning “go” or “leave”. This portion teaches us that sometimes you need to go from a place you feel comfortable with and try something new. It is often easy to stay with something you are familiar with even if it is not a good space. But sometimes it is advantageous to go into unknown territory. I tend to stay with the familiar, but instead I will try new places and adventures. (Return to Top)

A Drop of Torah From Mark Rosenberg

Intention/Kavannah
Just like Abraham and Isaac - may we also bring deep faith with us as we face trials and uncertainty

Commentary
Isaac requests that Abraham bind him tightly so he does not seek to escape, thereby not counting it as a real sacrifice. The faith that Isaac has in God is most similar to the faith Abraham has. Isaac had no fear and wished to show God and his father that he was ready to be sacrificed for God. I am inspired by both men’s devotion to God. (Return to Top)

Hayyei Sarah by Lynn Cashell

Intention
May our lives be remembered for how we made people feel, not for the possessions they leave us.

Reflection
Abraham left everything he had to Issac, not his first born son, Ishmael, or his 6 more sons after Sarah died, yet during his lifetime, Abraham demonstrated many acts of generosity to others. Abraham tested his faith by obeying God to sacrifice his son, Issac, and also challenging God to save 10 righteous people at Sodom and Gomorrah.. We remember Abraham for the strength of his faith, his leadership, and his humility. How did Isaac remember his father? As one who gave him riches or the one whose faith was so strong, he was willing to sacrifice him? (Return to Top)

Toldot by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May we bring flexible thinking and prioritize relationship both at the Thanksgiving table and beyond

Commentary
This week's Torah portion Toldot is replete with sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau, exacerbated by Rebecca's scheming to ensure that Jacob received Isaac's blessings. This led to significant ruptures in the family. May we be able to use our creative thinking to address rivalry today without necessarily sacrificing any relationships in the process. (Return to Top)

Vayetzei by Rabbi Elyse

Intention/Kavannah
Though our journey into the unknown is often overwhelming and full of fear, we can also recognize moments of holiness along the way.

Commentary
Jacob flees from the wrath of his brother Esau, from whom he stole the birthright. Their mother, Rebecca, tells Jacob to head to her brother Laban for safety until Esau can calm down. Along the way, Jacob sleeps, using a rock as a pillow. He dreams of angels ascending and descending a ladder - going up and coming down. Jacob blesses the place when he wakes and says, “There is holiness here in this place, and I did not know it.” The vision of angels is one of frantic activity, of coming and going. Jacob is on a frenzied journey, escaping his brother's wrath and not knowing exactly where he is headed. Don’t we often find ourselves on similar journeys - between one thing and the next, not exactly sure where we might land? How comforting to know that even there, in the most frantic and unsettling moments of our lives, we too can look and find holiness and God’s presence. (Return to Top)

Vayishlach by Rabbi Nathan

Reflection
May we learn to wrestle with and embrace our fears as we strive to become our fullest selves

Commentary
In this week's Torah portion Jacob divides his household into two camps before meeting his brother Esau with the idea that if Esau were to attack one camp the other might be able to escape. And in a gesture carrying out parental favoritism that we have seen earlier in Genesis, he sends the children of Leah and her concubines ahead to face the potential danger of Esau before sending Rachel and her children. While we might be quick to criticize Jacob, it also behooves us to remember that fear can drive irrational decision-making. But even Jacob gives us hope, for before encountering his brother he does wrestle all night with an unknown man (perhaps himself) willing to face his fear rather than run away - a positive signal of growth. (Return to Top)

Vayeshev by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May we use all the tools we have available to move our families toward good and right behavior

Commentary
The Joseph saga starts with Joseph sharing "malicious reports" about his brothers to his fathers. The Medieval commentator Rashi suggests, drawing on midrash, that he was sharing about the brothers' egregious and immoral behavior. This though, along with his dream telling, leads to a cascade of distrust and ill will eventually ending in Joseph's enslavement. And it raises the real and difficult question of when we encounter poor behavior in our families what is the best way to change people? Is it through enforcement (turning to an authority figure) or could dialogue have been more effective? (Return to Top)

Vayigash by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May the hard moments we experience in our lives ultimately help lead us toward compassion rather than bitterness

Commentary
In the beginning of this week's Torah portion we encounter the climactic moment of reconciliation where Judah acknowledges the wrongs his brothers did to Joseph and Judah pleads to have himself incarcerated rather than put his youngest brother Benjamin in danger. This act of selflessness and care finally triggers Joseph to break down and reach out to his brothers. He further is able to take the "high road" by saying that all his travails were for the purpose of saving lives. This too signals an evolution of perspective away from the narrow and toward the spacious. (Return to Top)

Vayehi by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May we remember that we still hold the possibility to be bringers of change and healing to unhealthy family dynamics!

Commentary
In this week's Torah portion Jacob appears to continue the topsy-turvy nature of family leadership that we have seen earlier in Genesis by giving his main birthright blessing to the younger of Joseph's two sons Ephraim (not the elder Menashe as would be standard), adopting them, and also elevating the two of them to senior status among the sons (later tribes). But rather than allowing yet another round of anger and hurt to fester from this move, Joseph is able to, before his death, help bring peace in the family by publicly forgiving his brothers, promising to sustain them, and thereby mitigating the fear of retribution against them. (Return to Top)

Fri, January 17 2025
17 Tevet 5785