Parashat Va’era 5780 Meir Sendor As leaders from all over the world converge on Jerusalem this week to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it’s clear that a large part of the battle between Israel versus the…
Armed and Ready
Parashat Shemot 5780 by Meir Sendor Rabbi Yosi in the Gemara Hagigah (12b) says: Woe to people who see but don’t know what they are seeing, who stand but don’t know what they are standing on. The earth, on what…
Unrealpolitik
Parashat Vayechi 5780 by Meir Sendor In the Mishnah Avot, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai asks his top students their opinion on the most direct path to a virtuous life: משנה מסכת אבות פרק ב משנה ט [רבן יוחנן בן זכאי]…
Rise Up
Parashat Vayigash 5780 by Meir Sendor As this week’s parashah opens, Yehudah steps up to Yosef, who he thinks is a powerful, antagonistic Egyptian noble, to defend his youngest brother Binyamin against a false charge of theft. The situation seems…
Mind the Gap
Parashat Miketz, Hanukkah 5780 by Meir Sendor I was teaching an introductory session on Jewish meditation with a sincere and thoughtful group of Jewish college-age students in Tzfat this week. To get a sense of what level to start at…
Crossroads
Parashat Vayeshav 5780 by Meir Sendor At the heart of this week’s parashah is a strange encounter that seems like a minor and unnecessary detail in the narrative, yet turns out to be pivotal. Yosef is sent by his father…
Cold Comfort
Parashat VaYishlach 5780 by Meir Sendor “When Rabbi [Yehudah haNasi] would need to go to the government [in Rome] he would look over this parashah, and he would not accept a Roman escort on his return. One time, he did…
Pied Piper
Parashat VaYetze 5780 by Meir Sendor This week’s parashah begins with Yaakov Avinu on the run from his brother Esav. He takes shelter with his uncle Lavan and family, his mother’s brother, in Haran, an ancient commercial center near the…
To Serve and to Protect
Parashat Toldot 5780 by Meir Sendor Rights – territorial rights, political rights, personal rights – are often cited as the bone of contention between Israelis and Palestinians. Framed in this way, it seems like an all or nothing struggle. This…
All In
Parashat Hayye Sarah 5780 by Meir Sendor This week our eldest daughter and granddaughter were visiting Israel – our granddaughter is checking out study programs for next year. She also happens to be interested in engineering, so we visited Zomet,…
