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#parshah — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #parshah, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Parsha Chayei Sara:

    This is more on the frivolous side, but...

    I wish I was half the storyteller that Abraham's senior servant is.

    I don't mean in terms of loquaciousness, I mean cold hard facts. Not only does the man recite every key detail to Laban, exactly as it happened, but he does it before he eats a bite!

    My approach to telling stories is dwelling for far too long on trivial parts whilst glossing over the salient facts. The worst part is, I don't even know what the salient facts are.

    Well, who's to say you know what your recipient's ears need more than HaShem? If you're recounting a tale, give them the facts. Don't overstate *or* understate. There's time to wax lyrical after that, but we all need the facts.

    Be more like Abraham? Of course.
    Be more like Abraham's senior servant? You better, you bet!

    #mazeldon #parsha #parshah #parshahthoughts #torah #torahstudy

  2. Parsha Chayei Sara:

    This is more on the frivolous side, but...

    I wish I was half the storyteller that Abraham's senior servant is.

    I don't mean in terms of loquaciousness, I mean cold hard facts. Not only does the man recite every key detail to Laban, exactly as it happened, but he does it before he eats a bite!

    My approach to telling stories is dwelling for far too long on trivial parts whilst glossing over the salient facts. The worst part is, I don't even know what the salient facts are.

    Well, who's to say you know what your recipient's ears need more than HaShem? If you're recounting a tale, give them the facts. Don't overstate *or* understate. There's time to wax lyrical after that, but we all need the facts.

    Be more like Abraham? Of course.
    Be more like Abraham's senior servant? You better, you bet!

    #mazeldon #parsha #parshah #parshahthoughts #torah #torahstudy

  3. Parsha Chayei Sara:

    This is more on the frivolous side, but...

    I wish I was half the storyteller that Abraham's senior servant is.

    I don't mean in terms of loquaciousness, I mean cold hard facts. Not only does the man recite every key detail to Laban, exactly as it happened, but he does it before he eats a bite!

    My approach to telling stories is dwelling for far too long on trivial parts whilst glossing over the salient facts. The worst part is, I don't even know what the salient facts are.

    Well, who's to say you know what your recipient's ears need more than HaShem? If you're recounting a tale, give them the facts. Don't overstate *or* understate. There's time to wax lyrical after that, but we all need the facts.

    Be more like Abraham? Of course.
    Be more like Abraham's senior servant? You better, you bet!

    #mazeldon #parsha #parshah #parshahthoughts #torah #torahstudy

  4. Parsha Chayei Sara:

    This is more on the frivolous side, but...

    I wish I was half the storyteller that Abraham's senior servant is.

    I don't mean in terms of loquaciousness, I mean cold hard facts. Not only does the man recite every key detail to Laban, exactly as it happened, but he does it before he eats a bite!

    My approach to telling stories is dwelling for far too long on trivial parts whilst glossing over the salient facts. The worst part is, I don't even know what the salient facts are.

    Well, who's to say you know what your recipient's ears need more than HaShem? If you're recounting a tale, give them the facts. Don't overstate *or* understate. There's time to wax lyrical after that, but we all need the facts.

    Be more like Abraham? Of course.
    Be more like Abraham's senior servant? You better, you bet!

    #mazeldon #parsha #parshah #parshahthoughts #torah #torahstudy

  5. Avram is no gung-ho superhero, no conquerer, no Superman, no Rambo. He is stricken with anxiety, with self-doubt, with conflict, with blame. The crushing weight of responsibility sits on his shoulders - After an exhausting night of defending the carcasses of sacrifice, "a great dark dread descended upon him." Rashi says this is representative of the woes and gloom of the Jews in exile. But for Avraham, he is as a nation, a people within himself - with all the internal struggle that that entails. More on that come Parsha Vayera!

    After all that, he'd be forgiven for being an overly-serious grinch. But this founding patriarch is no self-aggrandising pompous stoic! His very first action under the name Avraham is to laugh in the face of God and doubt the efficacy of his loins!

    I don't have a blog, but I'm starting to see the appeal.

    4/4

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  6. Avram is no gung-ho superhero, no conquerer, no Superman, no Rambo. He is stricken with anxiety, with self-doubt, with conflict, with blame. The crushing weight of responsibility sits on his shoulders - After an exhausting night of defending the carcasses of sacrifice, "a great dark dread descended upon him." Rashi says this is representative of the woes and gloom of the Jews in exile. But for Avraham, he is as a nation, a people within himself - with all the internal struggle that that entails. More on that come Parsha Vayera!

    After all that, he'd be forgiven for being an overly-serious grinch. But this founding patriarch is no self-aggrandising pompous stoic! His very first action under the name Avraham is to laugh in the face of God and doubt the efficacy of his loins!

    I don't have a blog, but I'm starting to see the appeal.

    4/4

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  7. Avram is no gung-ho superhero, no conquerer, no Superman, no Rambo. He is stricken with anxiety, with self-doubt, with conflict, with blame. The crushing weight of responsibility sits on his shoulders - After an exhausting night of defending the carcasses of sacrifice, "a great dark dread descended upon him." Rashi says this is representative of the woes and gloom of the Jews in exile. But for Avraham, he is as a nation, a people within himself - with all the internal struggle that that entails. More on that come Parsha Vayera!

    After all that, he'd be forgiven for being an overly-serious grinch. But this founding patriarch is no self-aggrandising pompous stoic! His very first action under the name Avraham is to laugh in the face of God and doubt the efficacy of his loins!

    I don't have a blog, but I'm starting to see the appeal.

    4/4

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  8. Avram is no gung-ho superhero, no conquerer, no Superman, no Rambo. He is stricken with anxiety, with self-doubt, with conflict, with blame. The crushing weight of responsibility sits on his shoulders - After an exhausting night of defending the carcasses of sacrifice, "a great dark dread descended upon him." Rashi says this is representative of the woes and gloom of the Jews in exile. But for Avraham, he is as a nation, a people within himself - with all the internal struggle that that entails. More on that come Parsha Vayera!

    After all that, he'd be forgiven for being an overly-serious grinch. But this founding patriarch is no self-aggrandising pompous stoic! His very first action under the name Avraham is to laugh in the face of God and doubt the efficacy of his loins!

    I don't have a blog, but I'm starting to see the appeal.

    4/4

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  9. Avram is no gung-ho superhero, no conquerer, no Superman, no Rambo. He is stricken with anxiety, with self-doubt, with conflict, with blame. The crushing weight of responsibility sits on his shoulders - After an exhausting night of defending the carcasses of sacrifice, "a great dark dread descended upon him." Rashi says this is representative of the woes and gloom of the Jews in exile. But for Avraham, he is as a nation, a people within himself - with all the internal struggle that that entails. More on that come Parsha Vayera!

    After all that, he'd be forgiven for being an overly-serious grinch. But this founding patriarch is no self-aggrandising pompous stoic! His very first action under the name Avraham is to laugh in the face of God and doubt the efficacy of his loins!

    I don't have a blog, but I'm starting to see the appeal.

    4/4

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  10. The plagues that afflict the Pharoah and his household - the very ones Avram feared would kill him - are on account of Sarai. And that which Avram acquires thanks to her is from the Egyptians: The Jewish nation will be strangers among them for many years to come, and yet it is their riches that helped sustain the creation of Am Yisrael.

    And so what is his response to the King of Sodom's offer of possessions for persons? "You shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avram rich.’" Because that would be a falsehood - Avram was made rich by many before him!

    3/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  11. The plagues that afflict the Pharoah and his household - the very ones Avram feared would kill him - are on account of Sarai. And that which Avram acquires thanks to her is from the Egyptians: The Jewish nation will be strangers among them for many years to come, and yet it is their riches that helped sustain the creation of Am Yisrael.

    And so what is his response to the King of Sodom's offer of possessions for persons? "You shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avram rich.’" Because that would be a falsehood - Avram was made rich by many before him!

    3/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  12. The plagues that afflict the Pharoah and his household - the very ones Avram feared would kill him - are on account of Sarai. And that which Avram acquires thanks to her is from the Egyptians: The Jewish nation will be strangers among them for many years to come, and yet it is their riches that helped sustain the creation of Am Yisrael.

    And so what is his response to the King of Sodom's offer of possessions for persons? "You shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avram rich.’" Because that would be a falsehood - Avram was made rich by many before him!

    3/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  13. The plagues that afflict the Pharoah and his household - the very ones Avram feared would kill him - are on account of Sarai. And that which Avram acquires thanks to her is from the Egyptians: The Jewish nation will be strangers among them for many years to come, and yet it is their riches that helped sustain the creation of Am Yisrael.

    And so what is his response to the King of Sodom's offer of possessions for persons? "You shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avram rich.’" Because that would be a falsehood - Avram was made rich by many before him!

    3/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  14. The plagues that afflict the Pharoah and his household - the very ones Avram feared would kill him - are on account of Sarai. And that which Avram acquires thanks to her is from the Egyptians: The Jewish nation will be strangers among them for many years to come, and yet it is their riches that helped sustain the creation of Am Yisrael.

    And so what is his response to the King of Sodom's offer of possessions for persons? "You shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avram rich.’" Because that would be a falsehood - Avram was made rich by many before him!

    3/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  15. In turn, they are sustained by the tents he pitches, the altars he builds, the lives he saves, the nation he will birth. It is worth mentioning that the first time Avram is told of the land being assigned (Bereshit 12:7), it is assigned only to his offspring, not directly to him. His name will be made great, but the great name in question is the one he will be given. The goal he is pursuing is one he will never personally witness.

    And so it goes on, with Sarai's support - "Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you."

    "And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, jennies, and camels." (it is worth mentioning that according to Midrash, this bounty includes Hagar!)

    2/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  16. In turn, they are sustained by the tents he pitches, the altars he builds, the lives he saves, the nation he will birth. It is worth mentioning that the first time Avram is told of the land being assigned (Bereshit 12:7), it is assigned only to his offspring, not directly to him. His name will be made great, but the great name in question is the one he will be given. The goal he is pursuing is one he will never personally witness.

    And so it goes on, with Sarai's support - "Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you."

    "And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, jennies, and camels." (it is worth mentioning that according to Midrash, this bounty includes Hagar!)

    2/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  17. In turn, they are sustained by the tents he pitches, the altars he builds, the lives he saves, the nation he will birth. It is worth mentioning that the first time Avram is told of the land being assigned (Bereshit 12:7), it is assigned only to his offspring, not directly to him. His name will be made great, but the great name in question is the one he will be given. The goal he is pursuing is one he will never personally witness.

    And so it goes on, with Sarai's support - "Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you."

    "And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, jennies, and camels." (it is worth mentioning that according to Midrash, this bounty includes Hagar!)

    2/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  18. In turn, they are sustained by the tents he pitches, the altars he builds, the lives he saves, the nation he will birth. It is worth mentioning that the first time Avram is told of the land being assigned (Bereshit 12:7), it is assigned only to his offspring, not directly to him. His name will be made great, but the great name in question is the one he will be given. The goal he is pursuing is one he will never personally witness.

    And so it goes on, with Sarai's support - "Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you."

    "And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, jennies, and camels." (it is worth mentioning that according to Midrash, this bounty includes Hagar!)

    2/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  19. In turn, they are sustained by the tents he pitches, the altars he builds, the lives he saves, the nation he will birth. It is worth mentioning that the first time Avram is told of the land being assigned (Bereshit 12:7), it is assigned only to his offspring, not directly to him. His name will be made great, but the great name in question is the one he will be given. The goal he is pursuing is one he will never personally witness.

    And so it goes on, with Sarai's support - "Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you."

    "And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, jennies, and camels." (it is worth mentioning that according to Midrash, this bounty includes Hagar!)

    2/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  20. After a very satisfying hour of Torah study...

    A Layman's Thoughts on Parsha Lech-Lecha:

    I begin with an aside: Gematria and that sort of number-coincidence thing aren't really for me, but it feels worthwhile to at least mention that in the year that Israel turned 75, this is the parsha where Avram is mentioned as being 75 at the start of his journey. Now, on with the show.

    Selfless In Every Sense, or; The Model Of The Torahic Hero

    Everything Avram achieved was supported by someone else.
    Everything Avram achieved was in support of someone else.
    He is selfless in both senses of the word - without others, he is nothing, but they too are sustained by his actions.

    "Go forth from your native land, your father's house." His upbringing, and indeed his entire adulthood, shaped him. This is a 75 year old man with 75 years of life lessons and personal influences. The self-made man is a myth!

    1/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  21. After a very satisfying hour of Torah study...

    A Layman's Thoughts on Parsha Lech-Lecha:

    I begin with an aside: Gematria and that sort of number-coincidence thing aren't really for me, but it feels worthwhile to at least mention that in the year that Israel turned 75, this is the parsha where Avram is mentioned as being 75 at the start of his journey. Now, on with the show.

    Selfless In Every Sense, or; The Model Of The Torahic Hero

    Everything Avram achieved was supported by someone else.
    Everything Avram achieved was in support of someone else.
    He is selfless in both senses of the word - without others, he is nothing, but they too are sustained by his actions.

    "Go forth from your native land, your father's house." His upbringing, and indeed his entire adulthood, shaped him. This is a 75 year old man with 75 years of life lessons and personal influences. The self-made man is a myth!

    1/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  22. After a very satisfying hour of Torah study...

    A Layman's Thoughts on Parsha Lech-Lecha:

    I begin with an aside: Gematria and that sort of number-coincidence thing aren't really for me, but it feels worthwhile to at least mention that in the year that Israel turned 75, this is the parsha where Avram is mentioned as being 75 at the start of his journey. Now, on with the show.

    Selfless In Every Sense, or; The Model Of The Torahic Hero

    Everything Avram achieved was supported by someone else.
    Everything Avram achieved was in support of someone else.
    He is selfless in both senses of the word - without others, he is nothing, but they too are sustained by his actions.

    "Go forth from your native land, your father's house." His upbringing, and indeed his entire adulthood, shaped him. This is a 75 year old man with 75 years of life lessons and personal influences. The self-made man is a myth!

    1/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  23. After a very satisfying hour of Torah study...

    A Layman's Thoughts on Parsha Lech-Lecha:

    I begin with an aside: Gematria and that sort of number-coincidence thing aren't really for me, but it feels worthwhile to at least mention that in the year that Israel turned 75, this is the parsha where Avram is mentioned as being 75 at the start of his journey. Now, on with the show.

    Selfless In Every Sense, or; The Model Of The Torahic Hero

    Everything Avram achieved was supported by someone else.
    Everything Avram achieved was in support of someone else.
    He is selfless in both senses of the word - without others, he is nothing, but they too are sustained by his actions.

    "Go forth from your native land, your father's house." His upbringing, and indeed his entire adulthood, shaped him. This is a 75 year old man with 75 years of life lessons and personal influences. The self-made man is a myth!

    1/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  24. After a very satisfying hour of Torah study...

    A Layman's Thoughts on Parsha Lech-Lecha:

    I begin with an aside: Gematria and that sort of number-coincidence thing aren't really for me, but it feels worthwhile to at least mention that in the year that Israel turned 75, this is the parsha where Avram is mentioned as being 75 at the start of his journey. Now, on with the show.

    Selfless In Every Sense, or; The Model Of The Torahic Hero

    Everything Avram achieved was supported by someone else.
    Everything Avram achieved was in support of someone else.
    He is selfless in both senses of the word - without others, he is nothing, but they too are sustained by his actions.

    "Go forth from your native land, your father's house." His upbringing, and indeed his entire adulthood, shaped him. This is a 75 year old man with 75 years of life lessons and personal influences. The self-made man is a myth!

    1/

    #mazeldon #jewdiverse #parsha #parshah #ParshahThoughts #torah #torahstudy #lechlecha

  25. One of the reasons I love talking about the weekly #parshah on social media is because every week has one, and yet each one only comes once a year, so it is both a timely yet ever-present topic of conversation. It is a great alternative to whatever "timely" topic happens to have the internet angry and at each others' throats at any given moment.

    #parsha

  26. Parshat Korach is an interesting one, because Korach is quite clearly cast as the villain of the story, yet his core claim against Moshe and Aharon:

    "כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם ה' וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל קְהַל ה'
    All of the nation is holy and have God amongst them, so why do you raise yourselves above the congregation of God?"

    seems to be a just one. Understanding why Korach is nevertheless wrong is one of the most interesting questions of the #parshah. A great discussion topic for your Shabbos meal!

    #parsha #Shabbat #Shabbos #ShabbatShalom #GoodShabbos

  27. The Generation of the Wilderness

    The Rabbis argued in Bet Hamidrash
    About the generation of the wilderness
    Do they have a share in the World to Come?

    "במדבר הזה יתמו ושם ימותו"
    Hashem said in His Holy Torah:
    In this wilderness they will perish
    And there they shall die!
    "They shall perish" refers to our own world
    "And there they shall die" refers to the world to come
    This is what Rabbi Akiva said;
    Said Rabbi Eliezer
    They enter the world to come!

    It is thus stated:
    Gather unto me
    My pious ones
    Who had made a covenant with me over a sacrifice.
    The generation who suffered for Hashem
    In Egypt and in all travails
    Through heat and cold, hunger and thirst
    Is not that the greatest sacrifice?

    Said Rabbah, the grandson of Channa, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan:
    שבקיה רבי עקיבא לחסידותיה?!
    Oh, Rabbi Akiva!
    How could you
    Abandon your piety!

    This is what Hashem said to His prophet, Jeremiah:
    Go and call out
    In the ears of Jerusalem
    And say: "I remember for thee
    The piety of your youth
    The love of your nuptials
    Your following after me
    Through a wilderness that cannot be sown."
    Now, argued Rabbi Yochanan:
    If others enter through their merit –
    They, themselves, all the more so!
    (TB Sanh. 110b)

    #Parsha #Parshah

  28. CW: Jethro vs. Abraham

    According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

    Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

    In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

    This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

    When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

    I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

    Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

    Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

    I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

    Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

    Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

    Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

    #Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro

  29. @kirz @RebeccaShapiro @aha

    עברית 😉
    עורית is more like "blindness" 😂

    BUT NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT #Avraham was called #Hebrew - the Ivri because he was "over" the line. The whole world was on one side and he was on the other: the only person on earth who recognized his single, everloving Creator. #Torah #Parshah #LechLecha