Author: ISPS
Parashat Shemot
As we commence our reading of Exodus (Shemot), Israel begins its transition from being a family to being a people. We read the names of the ancestors (1:1-6) whose stories were told in Genesis and how the people have become “fruitful and prolific” (1:7) as promised by God to Abraham in Genesis 17:4-5. However, this Read More
Commentary: Baptism of the Lord.
The gospel reading this Sunday describes in human terms a divine experience of the baptism of Jesus, which is what the universal Church celebrates. According to the narration by Matthew, the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus like a dove when he came up out of the water (Matt 3:16).
Parashat Shavua: Speaking the Truth to Power.
Communication is full of difficulty in the story of Joseph and his brothers. We are told that Jacob’s preference for Joseph made his brothers hate him to the point that “they could not speak a friendly word to him.“ (37:4) In Vayigash we see how “his brothers [become] able to talk with him.”(45:15)