By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Vayishlach, Jacob returns home after years of exile, but his journey is marked by fear, uncertainty, and inner struggle. Before meeting Esau, he prepares through...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Vayetzei, Jacob leaves home alone, fleeing conflict and stepping into an uncertain future. At the beginning of his journey, he dreams of a ladder connecting...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Toldot, the Torah turns inward to the complexities of family, identity, and blessing. Rebecca experiences a difficult pregnancy and “goes to inquire of God,”...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Chayyei Sarah, we encounter transitions shaped by both loss and continuity. Sarah’s death opens the parashat with silence and grief, yet the narrative...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Vayera, we encounter moments of profound dialogue between heaven and earth—Avraham pleading for Sodom, Hagar crying out in the wilderness, and Sarah receiving...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Lekh-Lekha, Avram is called to leave everything familiar—his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house—and journey toward an unknown future. It is a command...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Noach, the world moves from chaos to covenant. After the flood, humanity begins again, and God establishes a promise never again to destroy the earth with water....
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
In Parashat Bereshit, the world itself comes into being through speech: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Creation is framed as an act of divine...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah bring the cycle of the chagim, holidays, to a quiet yet climactic conclusion. After the outward joy of Sukkot, the Torah invites us to...
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
Sukkot is called Zman Simchateinu, the season of our joy, yet it is also a time of vulnerability. We leave the stability of our homes and dwell in a sukkah with fragile...
