Drops of Torah from our members

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.

Drops of Torah from Prior Years

1. Parashat Beresheit by Rabbi Aviva
2. Noah by Rabbi Nathan
3. Lekh Lekha by Rabbi Nathan
4. Vayera by Rabbi Aviva
5. Hayyei Sarah by Kathy Trow
6. Toldot by Me'ira
7. Vayetze by Mark Rosenberg

Parashat Beresheit by Rabbi Aviva

Intention
May a close reading of The First Human highlight and celebrate the holiness of expansive gender identities.

Commentary
In the book of Beresheit, we meet the first human. When we have our first encounter with Adam, we typically translate "adam" as Adam... you know... that guy in the beginning of Torah that Gd creates. From stories we heard as a child and through pop culture, we all have our own idea of who this Adam guy was (and that he was, in fact, a guy). But a much truer translation of adam is Human or Earthling.  When Gd creates adam, adam is with all gender, ...VaYevarech Elohim et HaAdam b'tzalmo, "And HaShem created Adam/the First Human in the divine image... creating it in the image of Gd, male and female Gd created them" (Bereshit 1:27). This verse suggests that The First Human was both singular and plural, male and female and all genders in-between.  The expansiveness of Gd is reflected in The First Human-- b'tzalmo (in Gd's image). I love this verse because it lifts up and affirms the holiness of the spectrum of gender identity and expression. Just as Adam contains all genders, so too do we, humans today and Jewish people everywhere, contain all genders. (Return to Top) 

Noah by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May we find a way into prayer that feels authentic and helps to light deeper connections to the universe

Commentary
In this week's Torah portion, the commandment by God to Noah to "go into the ark" and to create an opening at the top of the ark for light to enter is understood by the Hasidic masters as an instruction about prayer. The word in Hebrew for ark - teiva - also means "word." And thus the command to make a window/light source for the ark can be re-read as "make your words light." In this sense, engaging more deeply with the words of prayer - going into our word/ark, will allow the "light" of our prayer practice to overflow and shine through our lives both during the service and beyond. (Return to Top) 

Lek Lekha by Rabbi Nathan

Intention
May we listen to the call for internal growth and realignment as an important step in any life change.

Commentary
This weekend's Torah portion begins with God's instruction to Abram (later Abraham) and his family to leave his home and go to a place that God will show them. The instruction has the unusual phrasing, from which we get the Hebrew name of our Torah portion, of "Lekh Lekha" rather than just "lekh (go)." This leaves an opening for much commentary on the extra "lekha" which can be understood to mean "for you" or "to you." Hasidic commentaries take the extra step of understanding this as an instruction to "Go into yourself." The idea here is that the beginning of significant life changes and journeys often begin within the self as Abraham, and we too, seek new vision and new spiritual alignment that allows us to become the change we envision. (Return to Top)

Vayera by Rabbi Aviva

Intention
May we recognize our own vitality as a source of strength to draw upon as we do the holy work of tikkun olam in our communities.

Commentary
In this week's parsha, Vayera, Gd intends to destroy the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah on the grounds of their inhabitants' transgressive behaviors. Abraham pleads to Gd to think of the innocent and righteous, and implores: "Far be it from you to do such a thing; shall not the Judge of all earth deal justly?!" Despite Gd not heeding Abraham's call, Abraham's plea to spare the righteous suggests that the righteous among us, if left to organize, act, and survive, may have the power to redeem the entire community-- sinners and all. In our own troubling and challenging times, may we recognize our own power and strength, and work together towards tikkun olam to bend the arc of the universe towards justice, on behalf of not just ourselves, but everyone. (Return to Top)

Hayyei Sarah by Kathy Trow

Intention
Making decisions in the height of grief can result in rash decisions that can have long term consequences.

Commentary
In Hayyei Sarah (Gen 23:1-25:18) Sarah dies in the land of Canaan. Since this was not Abraham’s homeland, he needed land to bury her. In his grief he approached the Hittites to purchase a burial site. “Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites-four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchant’s rate.”

I wonder if time was not of the essence to bury Sarah, maybe Abraham could have gotten the burial cave and fields surrounding it for a lesser price. It isn’t so much that he shouldn’t have paid as much or wouldn’t have, but many times in grief we make fast decisions that may be positive (like in this case Abraham and Sarah’s whole family are buried there- so a good investment!) or negative (was that a reasonable price for the land? Could he have negotiated the land for less money? Did the Hittites take advantage of a husband in mourning?). Either way, it is challenging to make important decisions at a time of deep grief. (Return to Top)

Toldot by Me’ira

Intention
May the powers that be model their behavior after Isaac and Avimelekh, working only towards peace, food, safety, and freedom for all.

Commentary
In the parshah Toldot, in the Torah, the Philistines and Isaac create a treaty, have a feast, and depart from each other in peace. 4,000 years later, we are operating under a tenuous ceasefire, waiting for the three remaining hostages, presumed dead, to be returned to Israel. Today - November 16, 2025 - Israel has opened the northern border of Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to enter, as a push towards that same peace. (Return to Top)

Vayetze by Mark Rosenberg

Intention
May we be open to considering that we don’t always know what is best for us.

Refection
As Jacob considered that he had been deceived by Laban and cheated out of Rachel as payment for his seven years of service, so might we consider sometimes that we may not know what is best for us. Jacob fathered a flock of children when he might not have conceived any without Laban’s deception. (Return to Top)