Monthly Archives: January 2019

“It is a Tree of Life to those who hold it”… Yitro, the 5th & Tu Bishvat

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

We don’t have a Torah portion named “Abraham” or “Joseph”, but we do have one named after a Midyanite priest. And no other than the reading which includes The Ten Commandments. Couldn’t we name this portion something more “Jewish”? I … Continue reading →

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Bread from above, Water from below & a Tree – Shabbat Shira / Parashat Beshalach

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Choice: do we have it or not? A famous midrash – for next week’s Torah reading – tells about G-d holding the mountain over the People’s heads saying, ‘accept my Torah or right here will be your graveside’. It seems … Continue reading →

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Punxsutawney, Dali, Moses & Aaron – The Torah portion of “Bo”

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Bill Murray, playing weatherman Phil Connors, heads to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the Groundhog Day festivities, not in the least hiding his contempt for the assignment, the small town, and the “hicks” who live there. But then, rather than making … Continue reading →

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To Be Seen – the Torah Portion of Va’era

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

There are three sets of 10’s in our tradition: Ten Utterances with which the world was created, the Ten Plagues, and the upcoming Ten Commandments, and with each one we have to wonder: why couldn’t G-d create the world with … Continue reading →

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