by Jennifer Zukerman, Class of 2028 This week, as we prepare for the festive anarchy of Purim, we read in Parshat Terumah about the precise and exacting construction of the Mishkan. It seems an unlikely pairing, but the fact that a parsha is always read at roughly the same time as a particular holiday invites us to examine what the parsha and the chag can teach about one another. In this case, the comparison provides insight into the power of discipline and divinely establish

Parshat Mishpatim: The Immutable Kindness of Law

by Emily Bell, Class of 2027 The second to last pasuk in Parshat Yitro brings us a curious halakha: “And if you build for Me a stone altar, do not build it of cut stones, for by wielding a cutting tool (charb’kha)   over them you have profaned them (Shemot 20:22).” The Mishna in Middot codifies this law, as it recounts the process of building the altar in the Beit HaMikdash with stones from the valley of Bet Kerem:  They brought from there whole stones, above which no iron to

by Hannah Greenberg, Class of 2029 Most of us know what it feels like to be forgotten. A friend forgets to call back. A birthday goes unnoticed. You speak in a meeting and no one seems to hear. These tiny fractures accumulate and leave us wondering whether our presence truly matters. Judaism does not shy away from this experience. In fact, the Talmud argues that, at the edge of the Red Sea, an entire nation wondered whether they, too, had slipped through the cracks of history

by Anna Veronese, Class of 2028 Recently I re-watched the 2010 film The King's Speech , in which King George VI struggles with a debilitating stutter as he prepares to lead his nation through World War II. Thousands of years earlier, the Torah presents a strikingly similar story: Moses, chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery, faces Pharaoh with a speech difficulty and crippling self-doubt. Three verses in Shemot describe Moses's speech difficulty. The first one is found

by Yael Turitz Kaplan, Class of 2027 The gemara in Sota 11b tells us: “In the merit of righteous women in that generation, the Jews were saved from Egypt.” And yet, when we begin the epic story of the exodus in Parshat Shemot with a list of names, women are absent from the list. What women is the gemara talking about? On what merit did they help bring the Jews out of slavery? In Masechet Sota, the gemara goes on to tell us about the women of Bnei Yisrael who persisted in havi

by Rabbanit Dalia Davis, Class of 2022 In fourth grade we learned Parshat Vayechi. My teacher had us memorize all of the blessings that Yaakov bestowed upon his children. At the time, I knew all of them by heart (as well as all the accompanying hand movements), but I didn’t notice any absences. Today, I no longer remember all of the words, but I do see one glaring omission: Where is Dinah? Before Yaakov dies, he summons his children: “And Jacob called his children/sons and sa

by Rabbi Tali Aronsky, Class of 2025 Parashat Vayigash opens with three simple words: “Vayigash elav Yehudah,”   “And Judah approached him” (Bereishit 44:18).   After chapters of tension, silence, guilt, and distance, Judah steps forward. Judah steps forward to confront the powerful Egyptian viceroy, not yet knowing that this ruler is his own brother Joseph. The stakes could not be higher: Benjamin’s freedom, his father’s life, and the future of the family itself. But the Tor

by Ilana Gimpelevich, Class of 2026 The end of last week’s parsha, Vayeshev, does not bode well for Yosef. What began as the bravado of an arrogant youth quickly unravels as he is brought low. His father rebukes him for his wild dreams; his brothers remove him from the picture by casting him into a pit; then, in Egypt, he finds himself thrust even further down, locked away in prison on false charges. By this point, Yosef’s confidence appears to be thoroughly crushed, his earl

by Rabbi Marianne Novak Class of '19 We return this week to the dramatic saga of Yaakov’s family. After surviving a battle with an angel, a fraught reunion with his twin brother Esav, the rape of his daughter, and her brothers’ violent retaliation, Yaakov settles down. He is now Vayeshev Yaakov . The lens of the narrative now turns to his children—specifically his most favorite child, Yosef, his ben z’kunim, the child of his old age, and Yehuda, the unlikely father of kings.