Yisro – When Unity Becomes Dangerous
We talk a lot about unity as if it’s automatically good.
This week’s parshiyot suggest something more unsettling: unity can be powerful and destructive — depending on what it’s built on.
The Egyptian Converts Everyone Blames. Don’t Get Mixed Up.
The Sages blame many wilderness failures on the Erev Rav, the Egyptian converts.
But was this about scapegoating a group… or diagnosing influence?
What if the real danger wasn’t them, but what they mixed into us?
Bo – We Left Egypt. Did We Take the Bitterness With Us?
When the Israelites left Egypt, they chose to take the leftover maror with them. It wasn’t commanded. It was carried.
What we do with our pain after freedom might matter as much as how we survive it.
Va’eira – Did God Take Away Pharaoh’s Free Will?
Did God take away Pharaoh’s free will—or did he trap himself? Explore how pride and unchecked desire can weigh down the heart, even in the face of miracles.
Shemos: Moses Buried More Than an Egyptian, He Buried Part of Himself
There’s a moment when looking away stops being neutral.
The Torah describes it as “there was no man.”
That’s the moment when a part of you either lives—or dies.
Vayechi – Sorry, Not Sorry: When “It Worked Out” Isn’t an Apology
In Vayechi, Joseph’s brothers approach him after their father’s death, but their fear and his restrained response show that true reconciliation never fully happened. Why?
The Limits of Fatherhood: How to Support While Letting Go.
Becoming a father again has me reflecting on Vayigash: how we support our children, how we let go, and how faith guides us when we can’t protect them completely. Yosef shows that true parenthood is both care and trust.
Hebrew Knows Something About Dreams and Yosef Proved It
Dreams feel meaningful even when they’re absurd. The Torah takes that seriously. Hebrew encodes a theory of dreams built on paradox—and Yosef used it to unlock Pharaoh’s dream.
Colorful Coats, Hanukkah Pajamas, and a Shirt in a Married Woman’s Hand: What Do Your Clothes Say About You?
Vayeishev keeps coming back to clothing—Yosef’s coat, his garment in Potiphar’s house, Yehuda’s cloak. Each one reveals identity in a surprising way. As Chanukah begins, I reflected on what our own “garments” say about us, and how the holiday pushes us to show who we really are.
Did the Man Who Violated Dina Become Rabbi Akiva?
A surprising kabbalistic tradition links Shechem’s corrupted desire to Rabbi Akiva’s sanctified passion.
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 