by Rabbi Margie Cella
Jacob started preparing to meet Esau. He sent messengers to let Esau know that he was coming. They returned saying that Esau was on his way, accompanied by 400 men. Frightened, Jacob...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Heading towards Haran, Jacob stopped for the night in the desert. He dreamed of a ladder with angels ascending and descending on it. God promised the land on which he was lying to...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
After 20 childless years of marriage, Rebecca conceived twins. Experiencing a difficult pregnancy, Rebecca herself consulted God, who explained that two nations would descend from...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
The name of this parashah means “lives of Sarah”, but it ironically begins with her death. The Torah does not give the cause of her death, but many believe that she died of a broken...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
This week’s parashah begins with three celestial messengers paying a visit to Abraham and Sarah. They come to tell Sarah that she will have a child within the year (God had previously...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Ten generations after Noah, we meet Abram, whom God commanded to leave his home and family to move to an unknown place that God would show him. He followed God’s command, leaving...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Ten generations after Adam and Eve, we are introduced to their descendant Noah. The world had become corrupt and filled with violence. God decided to send a flood to destroy the earth,...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
And so, we begin again. As we do each year, after closing the Torah with the death of Moses, we open it once more, returning to the opening verses of the story of creation. We read...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
This penultimate parashah of the Torah is Moses’ final song to the nation. In it, he offers praise to God for all that God has done for the nation and exhorts the people once again...
by Rabbi Margie Cella
Moses was 120 years old and God had told him that he would not cross over the Jordan. Joshua would lead the nation in his place, and God would go with them as they entered the land,...
