by Chanchkie Slavin Class of '26 The book of Bereishit is, in many ways, a tapestry of sibling stories: complex, painful, and profoundly human. Let us focus on the stories of our forefathers, whose life work and journeys provide guidance for our own lives today. Yishmael and Yitzchak. Esav and Yaakov. And finally, the twelve sons of Yaakov, Bnei Yisrael. Each generation faces its own version of rivalry, misunderstanding, and separation. But only one generation, the children

by Rabba Claudia Marbach class of '18 As the mother of a mother who is expecting twins, I am curious about my daughter’s reaction to the oncoming tsunami of emotion and change. Any shaking up of a family, whether anticipated or not, brings a reordering of relations, reallocation of labor, and questions about work-life balance. Rivka, the Torah’s ultimate twin mom, teaches us that for an expectant mother, the change is not only about relationships. It is also about fundamental

by Sarah Pincus, Class of ‘26 A few months back, I was at shiva house and one of the aveilim remarked, “I’m finding I don’t really like when people say, ‘May her memory be for a blessing.’ Turning her life into a memory makes her feel like something of the past. In her living and in her death, may her life be for a blessing.” When I began reading this week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, those words immediately came to mind.  After Sarah Imeinu’s full life of 127 years, the Torah tel

by Rabbi Yali Szulanski, Class of ‘25 Three times in Parshat Vayera, the Torah pauses to tell us, “Vayashkem Avraham baboker”—“Avraham rose early in the morning.” It seems like a small detail, yet it appears at decisive moments. It appears before he stands at the edge of Sodom and sees the aftermath of destruction. It appears before he sends Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness, a moment of profound heartbreak. It appears before he sets out with Isaac toward Mount Moriah, un