Collections of Thoughts and Poetry

#finishline #completion #eisav #jacob #limp #breisheet #friends #couples #races #race #papercups This little poem is inspired by Jacob's fight with the angel. Jacob persevered, as did the angel. Jacob got a new name, identity and a limp that lasted for his lifetime. We remember his limp by not eating the cut We all get a little beat up during our lifetimes. I imagined Jacob as an old man, heading back to Egypt to meet his son Joseph after so many years. Jacob probably sti

#dina #jacob #deena #yaakov #vayishlach #genesis #breisheet #parshathashavua #parshapoetry #poetry #rape #silence #voice Dear Readers, I struggled mightily with this post. The women of Torah who are raped and abused never speak. and when I read about women whose voices are absent, I like to try to give them a voice, if only for a few moments. In Parshat Vayishlach, we get an introduction to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. Dinah and her family, recently arrived in their new ho

#siblings #brothersandsisters #jacob #rachelandleah #leahandrachel #leah #rachel #breisheet #parshatvayeitzei #vayeitzei #lavan #siblingrelationships #families The book of Genesis is filled with stories of siblings. From Cain and Abel, through Isaac and Yishmael, Jacob and Esau, we see one dysfunctional family situation after another. Perhaps the Torah's message is theological; that God has a plan and we fit not so neatly into that plan or perhaps the Torah is asking us to

#theorchardkeeper #blessings #parshatvayechi #vayechi #jacob #joseph #wordshavewings #theorchard #whatareblessings In Parshat Vayechi, as we come to the end of the book of Genesis, Jacob's sons are firmly implanted in Egypt. As the time comes for Jacob to leave this world, he speaks to each of his progeny with honesty. He understands the faults and strengths of each of them, as has been pointed out to us in Breisheet and the messages are not always positive, but reflecting

#refugees #joseph #jacob #jacobandjoseph #vayigash #immigrant #homeland #newhome #adjustments #memory #wordshavewings #parshapoetry #immigration #immigrationstories In Parshat Vayigash we complete the story of the brothers and their immigration to the land of Goshen. These days, and probably for the relatively short history of these United States, we hear about immigration in the news. Many of us are the children of immigrants or perhaps we are immigrants ourselves. This

#whoknows #thegatewaytoheaven #whoknew #heavenwashereandididnotknowit #parshatvayeitzei #yaakov #jacob #vayeitzei In Parshat Vayeitzei, Jacob flees from the wrath of his brother. How alone he must have felt as he journeyed back toward his mother's homeland. Was he feeling powerless or powerful? One can never know, but despite what he felt, during the night he was visited by a dream of angels descending and ascending a staircase and when he woke in the morning he knew that

#andheshalllive #abraham #isaac #jacob #breisheet #vayechi #wordshavewings #thememoryroom #lessonsforliving #honesty #cooperation #covenant #ideasthatbind The book of Genesis concludes with Parshat Va'yechi. While the bulk of this Parsha focuses on the death and burial of Jacob as well as the memorable final blessings for Jacob's progeny, the first word of the parsha is V'Yechi, which translates as "and he lived." What does it mean "And he lived?" Perhaps it means that while

#wrestlingwithangels #dancingwithangels #music #musicinmyears #parsha #vayishlach #danceatmidnight #danceatdawn #danceofthemoon #jacob #angels #danceofangels #feetpounding #heartbeats #rhythms In Parshat VaYishlach, Ya'akov's identity changes as his name is changed from Ya'akov to Yisrael, which means "a struggle with God." In a vivid scene, an angel appears to Ya'akov and they spend the night wresting. Only toward dawn does Ya'akov triumph over the angel, but not before the

#jacob #esau #myprayer #prayer #wordshavewings #parshatvayishlach #birthright #areyouthere #doesgodhearourprayers In this poem, the first I will write about Parshat VaYishlach, brings us the edge of a river. It is night, Jacob is alone and is preparing to meet with his brother Esav in the morning. Esav and Jacob did not part ways amicably or honestly. Despite years apart, Jacob still fears his brother's revenge after stealing Esav's birthright. Jacob is now a wealthy man and

#lentils #redlentils #brownlentils #greenlentils #eisav #jacob #iamhungry #lentilsoup #lentilsoup Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished. וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָאָדֹ֤ם הָאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י עָיֵ֖ף אָנֹ֑כִי עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱדֽוֹם׃ And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom. וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִכְרָ֥ה כַיּ֛וֹם אֶת־בְּכֹֽ

#wearefamily #family #bcholdorvador #isaac #jacob #rebecca #esau #yitzhak #rivka #esav #yaakov #competition #withloveweruin #mothersandfathers #familydynamics As much as I want to write happy and fun poems about next week's parsha, Parshat Toldot, I have always found the story of Ya'akov and Esav to be so tragic. M'farshim create an unsavory description of Esav in the Midrash, and at this point relationships and family is ripped apart. I understand that my reading is not t