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  1. DT Vaykhi Mackenzie Reynolds 2016

    The following is adapted from a d’var Torah given by RRC student Mackenzie Reynolds in early 2017 at a gathering of congregational presidents and rabbis at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a Reconstructionist Synagogue in New York. 

    “If I have found grace in your sight, don’t bury me in Egypt,” Jacob asks of Joseph in this week’s parsha, Vay’khi. A midrash continues:

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/have-you-no-decency-midrash-and-centrality-love

    Posted on: 2017/01/13 - 11:49am

  2. These Are The Names Shemot DT Micah B-K

    The Book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, begins with the listing of names. A recounting of “who is who” as a new era opens. While Genesis/Bereshit begins the Jewish journey following one family, as we begin Exodus, the narrative begins to be about a people emerging into being. This week’s portion continues some 375 years after the end of the Genesis text.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/these-are-names

    Posted on: 2018/01/05 - 1:08pm

  3. Moses' Double Mission - DT Va'era Eron

    This week’s Torah portion, Va’era, is set in Egypt. Moses has already returned from his exile in Midian. He has had his first and unsuccessful encounter with Pharaoh, who, in response to Moses’ request to allow the Israelites the opportunity to worship God in the wilderness, has placed additional burdens on the already overworked Israelite slaves. In addition to Pharaoh’s scorn, Moses’ own people abuse him for the troubles they believe he has brought upon them. Soon after it has begun, Moses’ mission already seems to have come to an end.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/moses-double-mission

    Posted on: 2018/01/05 - 11:07am

  4. Sandy Sasso: Art and Biblical Text

    In this Community Teaching call from January 2017, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso teaches on artists and biblical text as seen through literature, visual art and music.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/spoken-audio/art-and-biblical-text

    Posted on: 2017/12/11 - 2:57pm

  5. Community Teaching 11-21-2017 - Maurice Harris

    In this Community Learning call from November 21, 2017, Rabbi Maurice Harris talks about the strange way the Torah tells us about Moses’ up-close encounters with God, contradicting itself purposely within the space of nine verses. Two consecutive stories in the Book of Exodus confront us with a crucial paradox about how it is or isn’t possible to encounter the Divine, leaving us as readers with something like an “impossible” mental picture that we may be tempted to try to resolve or to hold as a fruitful paradox.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/spoken-audio/moses-encounters-god

    Posted on: 2017/12/11 - 2:31pm

  6. Joseph The Favorite Son DT Miketz

    Joseph, the dreamer and interpreter of dreams, is the son of a dreamer. It is no surprise that he is Jacob’s favorite son. Young Jacob dreamed of a stairway reaching to heaven, traveled by angels. In a dream-like state, Jacob wrestled.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/joseph-favorite-son

    Posted on: 2017/01/30 - 7:31pm

  7. Quality or Quantity? DT Hayey Sarah

    “And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah…” begins our Torah portion this week. Interestingly, Sarah’s age is not revealed with any sense of awe for the number of years she lived. Was there something different about the way our ancestors aged or counted? Or is there something we are missing in our reading of the story?

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/quality-or-quantity

    Posted on: 2017/11/07 - 5:02pm

  8. Tamar the Hidden DT Vayeshev

    Maybe the Torah is really Tamar’s story. Seen from that perspective, Judah’s interlude with Tamar is not an annoying interruption placed between Joseph’s sale into slavery and Joseph’s encounter with Potiphar’s wife. Maybe we need to know Tamar better. After all Psalm 92 tells us, tzaddik k’tamar - the wise/just are like Tamar. They are planted in the house of God, where they fruit and send out seed in order to tell of God’s uprightness.

    So what does it mean to be like Tamar?

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/tamar-hidden

    Posted on: 2017/12/03 - 7:44pm

  9. Tazria Metzora Story - Gift of Impermanence

    “Orit!” “Ori-i-i-t!” Her mother was calling, but Orit was preoccupied. “Orit Rivkah bat Mushi!” shouted her mother—the use of her full name indicating a growing consternation. “Where are you?!”
     

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/gift-impermanence-story-parashat-tazriametzora

    Posted on: 2016/11/29 - 3:35pm

  10. Connecting the Dots DT Vayishlakh Dannin

    Flowing through Bereyshit/Genesis are the themes of blindness, deception, and identity. Last week, in Parashat Vayetzey, Jacob’s very identity was shaken and remade at Bet El. Before he fell asleep he was a thief fleeing from the wholly justified wrath of his brother Esau. When Jacob awoke from his dream at Bet El, it was to realize that he had met the divine. Through the rest of Vayetzey, Jacob moved through a series of new identities: lover, husband, father, shepherd, and fugitive from his father-in-law Laban.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/connecting-dots

    Posted on: 2017/11/20 - 2:42pm

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