Read & Listen

This is the beginning of Jacob’s journey of spiritual awakening. By impersonating his brother Esau, Jacob had tricked his blind father, Isaac, and acquired the special blessing of the firstborn intended for Esau. But now, Esau wants to kill him, and Jacob has been forced to run away from the only home he has ever known.

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler · 06 Toldot | Insights from the Weekly Torah Portion

If Parashat No’akh is named after its protagonist Noah, why isn’t Parashat Toldot named after its protagonist Isaac? Why is it called Parashat Toldot, and not Parashat Yitzkhak?

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler · 05 Chayei Sarah | Insights from the Weekly Torah Portion

Life goes on after Sarah’s death, as it should. There is grieving and renewal, loss and continuity. But the name of our parashah — “The Life of Sarah” — prompts us to pause and assess Sarah’s life before the inevitable moving on. I would like to examine two prominent streams of interpretation of the text.

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler · 04 Vayera Insights from the Weekly Torah Portion What is Sodom’s sinfulness, so terrible that God wishes to destroy it? Jewish tradition teaches that the sin of Sodom was that they would not share their bounty with others, and rejected hospitality to strangers. How do we avoid the fate of the ... Read more

Let us, then, approach the story of Abraham and his near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac (Yitzkhak יִצְחָק). This story makes most of us shudder, to say the least. Why does our tradition present this story of the Father of our People trying to kill his son?

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler · 03 Lekh Lekha | Insights from the Weekly Torah Portion Hagar runs away from her mistress Sarah’s mistreatment. At an oasis in the desert an angel of God comforts and reassures her. Hagar names the place Be’er Lakhai Roi – The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me. This well ... Read more

Abraham and Sarah heeded the call lekh-lekha and embarked on the inward journey towards self-awareness. Every one of us can take that spiritual journey.

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler · 02 No'akh| Insights from the Weekly Torah Portion We reacquaint ourselves with the Story of Noah and the Flood, and its many levels of meaning.