Hayey Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18)

I officiated at a funeral this week of a man who died somewhere around age 95. No one in the family is exactly sure of his age, but since he’d been celebrating his ninetieth birthday for the past five years, I figure it’s safe to assume that he was close to 95 one way or …

Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12:1-17:27)

My daughter is turning twenty-one this month, and it’s got me thinking a lot about the meaning we attach to different ages. Seems like this passage to adulthood ought to carry with it certain increased personal and communal responsibilities. Or perhaps, this time of transition from “pre-adulthood” to full membership in the adult community should …

Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24)

Last week as I sat working in my study at the synagogue my daughter Gable called from the youth lounge (where she was working that day watching the kids) and with a worried tone told me that one of the kids who was hanging out in the lounge had mentioned that his grandmother was just …

Bereshit 2006 (Genesis 1:1-6:8)

Every culture, every religion, every civilization has its own “creation story.” Ever since there have been human beings on the earth, we have wrestled with the fundamental questions of life, struggled to come up with a compelling narrative that will explain adequately to ourselves and our children where the world itself came from and what …