Go!

(Genesis 12:1)
MarCheshvan 10, 5776/October 23, 2015

Like an old fashioned western, our patriarch Avraham, (under the alias Avram), appears out of nowhere, on the horizon, his back to the east, heading westward to the promised land of Canaan. Who is he? Where is he coming from? What did he do to earn G-d's urgent voice message: "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." (Genesis 12:1-3)

In Hebrew, G-d's entire command and promise that He made to Avraham can be summed up in the first two words of G-d's message: "lech lecha," which also serves as the name of this week's Torah reading. In Hebrew the two words are spelled identically, each one containing the same two letters. In essence, everything that you and I are today, everything that the world is today, the very promise for tomorrow that keeps us moving forward, is contained and conveyed in these two letters which form the words "lech lecha."

The Greatness of the Fathers

God loves all His creatures, but He has a special affection for Israel. Why does God love the Jewish people?

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Lech Lecha (לך לך | Go forth)

Torah: Genesis 12:1-17:27

Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27-41:16

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

Noah: A Righteous Man

A double rainbow over the Golan Heights

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Welcome to Parasha Noach (Noah), this week’s Torah portion.

 

This is the portion of Scripture that will be read in synagogues around the world during the Shabbat (Saturday) service.  We invite you to read along with us; we know you will be blessed as you rediscover the importance of covenant and unity!

 

 

Parasha Noach (Noah / Rest)

Genesis 6:9–11:32; Isaiah 54:1–55:5; 1 Peter 3:8–22

 

“This is the account of Noah and his family.”  (Genesis 6:9)

 

In last week’s Torah portion (Parasha), we restarted the cycle of the weekly study of the Word of God from the very beginning with the study by the same name:Bereisheet (In the Beginning).

 

This week, we continue our study in the first book of Moses with the Biblical character of Noah — the only righteous man of his generation.

 

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”  (Genesis 6:9) 

 

Noah, Noah, and Messiah

When Noah was born, his parents named him Noach, saying, “This one will give us rest…”

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Noach (נח | Noah)

Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32

Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5

Gospel: Luke 1:5-80

Where Are You?

Where is God? According to the Torah, this is the wrong question entirely. The real question is, "Where are you?"

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

B'reisheet (בראשית | In the beginning)

Torah: Genesis 1:1-6:8

Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5-43:10

Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah).

Rejoice with us today on Simchat Torah!

 

At 8 a.m. this morning, the synagogues here in Israel were packed as we read the last pages of Devarim (Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12) and the beginning of Bereisheet (Genesis).

 

The reading of the yearly Torah cycle comes to an end with the blessings that Moses pronounces before his death over each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

These blessings echo Jacob's blessings over his 12 sons five generations earlier.  With them Moses prepares each tribe with its role within Israel.

 

In this Torah portion for Simchat Torah, which is called V'zot Habrachah (and this is the blessing), Moses ascends Mount Nebo.  From that summit, he is allowed to see the Promised Land, but not enter.  He dies in the Land of Moab, and to this day, only Adonai knows where he is buried.

 

 

Moses Viewing the Promised Land
(Illustration from Our Day in the Light of
Prophecy and Providence, 1921)

 

Sukkot and the Protective Covering of God

A lulav and etrog (citron)

 

Moadim L'Simcha (Appointed Times for Joy) and Shabbat Shalom!

 

During the weeklong festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), the regular Parasha (Torah portion) for Shabbat is suspended, and a special Parasha pertaining to the holiday is read in synagogues around the world.

 

Please read along with us and learn how Sukkot represents the sheltering presence of God.  We know you will be blessed, especially in light of current events!

 

 

Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot
Exodus 33:12–34:26; Ezekiel 38:18–39:16; Revelation 21:1–22:21

 

“Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord: for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.”  (Exodus 34:10)

 

 

For a seven day period you shall live in booths

(Leviticus 23:42)
Tishrei 19, 5776/October 2, 2015

For seven weeks the entire nation of Israel has been involved in a great spiritual exercise. It began in the month of Elul, a month of introspection and reflection on our failings as well as our aspirations. These four weeks are accompanied by selichot - special supplications and liturgical songs announcing our culpability and beseeching G-d's mercy.Elul is followed immediately by Rosh HaShana, the day in which we coronate G-d as King of all creation, the anniversary of the day G-d created Adam, our great great grandfather. On the tenth of Tishrei is Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and intense prayer, in which we transform ourselves into angelic beings, worthy, we hope, of standing before G-d and meriting His forgiveness. Four days later we shed our angel's wings and white robes and submerge ourselves into a world of intensified physicality: this is the world of Sukkot, surprisingly, perhaps, the climax of our seven week spiritual journey.