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…
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…
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,…
Waiting Room
Parashat Vayera 5780 by Meir Sendor This week Israel preemptively assassinated the leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza who had been planning a series of attacks, and the terror organization is responding with barrages of rockets against civilians in southern…
Moving on Up
Parashat Lekh Lekha 5780 The tension in the Middle East keeps ratcheting up, and the multiple threats against Israel are compounded by our chaotic political situation – the unresolved election that has left our government in limbo for months, with…
Eternal Return of the New
Parashat Bereshit 5780 by Meir Sendor I joined some friends this past week to celebrate the combined Yom Tov of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah at the Beit HaKnesset HaTzaddik HaLavan – the Synagogue of the White Tzaddik, also known…
Waterworks
Chol HaMoed Sukkot 5780 Meir Sendor Israel’s second round of elections remains inconclusive, as Knesset members continue to wrangle over whether and how to form a unity government. Most Israelis I speak with, from a wide range of political persuasions,…
Tal Orot Newsletter 5780
Where do we stand After three years in operation, we presently have ongoing meditation groups in five cities in Israel. Last year at this time, we were in Melbourne, Australia, and found many people who were eager to learn with…
