Parashat Toldot (Genesis 25:18 – 28:9)

Reflections on Thanksgiving – Rabbi Andy Vogel

Thanksgiving is an American holiday with religious roots.  The early Pilgrims saw their first Thanksgivings in the 1620s in the tradition of the harvest festivals which the Israelites celebrated in Jerusalem – specifically, the Biblical festival of Sukkot – to thank God the Source of Food who provides for everyone (ha’zan et hakol, in the words of the Birkat HaMazon) for their plentiful harvest.

In Judaism, of course, giving thanks is a central religious theme.  The daily Jewish prayer for thanksgiving begins “Modim anachnu lach” – “We thank You, Adonai,” and it draws our attention to the many “miracles” which we experience in our lives at all times and every part of the day.  The closing words of this prayer then point out a simple truth: that one of the Jewish names for God is “Goodness,” hatov.  We experience God through the good things, the “miracles,” that bring blessing to our families and us.  This year, standing around our Thanksgiving tables, as Jews we can pause in gratitude to the Source of all that is good in our lives – people we love, food we eat, wealth and health to various degrees.  The Jewish attitude is this:  Each of these gifts is a miracle; all that we have comes from God.

May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, and may you be blessed with the perspective of gratitude.

-          Rabbi Andy Vogel

Sinai Update – Week of November 12-18, 2006

Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:17)

Reflections on the Torah Portion – Rabbi Andy Vogel

We Jews are always saying “L’chayim,” “To Life!” Living life to the fullest is the essence of Jewish teachings.  When other peoples make a toast to a happy occasion, they might say, “bottoms up” or “cheers” or “salud” (which means ‘to health’ in Spanish), but we Jews toast to life.  Seeing life as valuable and precious, holding life as an ultimate value, and enriching the lives of others, these are central in Jewish tradition and teachings.  It is interesting to note that the name of this week’s Torah portion, in which the matriarch and the patriarch of our people, Sarah and then Abraham, each die and are buried, instead emphasizes life.  It is called “Chayei Sarah,” literally, “the Life of Sarah,” though she dies in its opening verses (Gen. 23:1-2).  The Torah portion’s very name points to a Jewish emphasis on living a holy and good life.

Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (1883-1946), one of Tel Aviv’s earliest chief rabbis, taught that this is a pattern in the Torah.  At Jacob’s death, the Torah portion is called “And he lived,” and at Moses’ death, the Torah portion is called “This is the blessing.”  The reason, said Rabbi Amiel, repeating a teaching from the Talmud (Brachot 18a) is that truly righteous and good people, even after their deaths, are called living.  They continue to influence us, to inspire us; we continue to feel their loving presence and hear their words in our minds.  This is the value of “kiddush ha’chayim,” making everyday life holy through holy acts, our legacy of holy living that continues, even after we are gone.

            - Rabbi Andy Vogel

Sinai Update – Week of October 29-November 4, 2006

Parashat Lech L’cha  (Genesis 12:1-17:27)

Reflections on the Torah Portion – Rabbi Andy Vogel

“We can bring blessing into the world” is the radical new message of Judaism, according to an interpretation of this week’s Torah portion.  “You shall be a blessing,” is the forecast God offers about Abram (Genesis 12:2) in what is the very first encounter between God and the Jewish people.  The Hasidic teacher, Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (1740-1810) understood this phrase as a command:  “Be a blessing!”  Until now in Genesis, blessing is only mentioned as one of God’s abilities, never is it a human power.  But at the beginning of story of Abram, the father of the Jewish people, something new enters the world: blessing originating from and embodied in human beings.

What does it mean to “be a blessing”?  According to the Midrash, it is to deal honestly in business, to care for the ill and needy, to give tzedakah, to enhance God’s reputation through our righteous behavior.  Above all, the Midrash teaches (Genesis Rabbah 39), it is to value human life and dignity above all.  This is the essence of Jewish tradition, and we tell the story of its beginnings this week.

            - Rabbi Andy Vogel