Parashat Miketz 5781 by Meir Sendor One of the underlying themes of this week’s parashah is identity. Yosef, a prisoner at the very bottom of the social pyramid of Egypt, jumps suddenly to the top, gets a nickname, adopts Egyptian…
Dealer’s Choice
Parashat Vayeshev 5781 by Meir Sendor We subscribe to Ulpan La-Inyan, an organization that, along with its online Hebrew instruction programs, sends a daily email with a word or phrase in Hebrew that’s used idiomatically in colloquial speech. This week…
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…
The Guiding Light
Parashat Miketz 5779 Meir Sendor I have been teaching a series on Talmudic mysticism at a women’s Beit Midrash in Tzfat, and this week at the end of the shiur we discussed some of the mystical aspects of Hanukkah based…
Birds Do It
Parashat Miketz – Shabbat Hanukkah 5778 Meir Sendor We made a trip this week with a visiting cousin to the nature reserve of the Hula valley that is renowned for the vast number and variety of birds that pass through.…
God Helps Those
Parashat Vayeshev 5778 Meir Sendor Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher in his commentary Ba’al haTurim on this week’s parashah compares Jerusalem to Tamar, wrongly accused but ultimately vindicated: בעל הטורים בראשית פרק לח פסוק טו מה תמר תחילתה בבזיון ולבסוף בכבוד…
Light Show
Parashat Miketz 5777 Rabbi Meir Sendor It has been raining hard in Tzfat and throughout much of Israel for the last few days – a much-needed rain, but it’s been cold, dark and dreary, and we were socked-in with thick…
