There is a tradition to read strands of the names of the Torah portions as a message in and of themselves. A particularly famous one is used when praising someone extensively after their death (so extensively to the point that you wonder what would have been said about them in their lifetime). "Acharei Mot K'doshim Emor". Three Torah portions from Vayikra (Leviticus) that if read as a sentence state: 'after they are dead you say they are holy.' Read more...

I am often amazed that a seemingly innocent phrase or word recorded in the Torah can generate a rabbinical debate that covers the globe and lasts over 2000 years. The controversy over Noah’s essence as a person is a paradigmatic example of this phenomenon. The conversation created below, based on ancient, medieval, and modern commentaries, is an attempt to bring that debate to life through time and space. Players:  Torah - God  Midrash Bereshit Rabbah Midrash Devarim Rabbah Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, in part because of its name and in part because it spans the majority of the portion, is best known for the story of Noah and the flood that God caused to rain down for forty days and forty nights.  Yet, there is another brief, yet also well-known narrative in this week’s Torah reading that comes just following the account of Noah. Read more...

We’re all familiar with the timeless story of Noah and the Flood.  Having just created humanity, God is horrified to see just how depraved, how violent, and how lawless we can become in the short span of a few generations. Frustrated beyond restraint, God decides to wipe out humanity and to start anew, with a particularly promising family, that of the righteous man, Noah. Read more...

We all know people who blame their every misfortune on their parents.  Long after their teen years are over, often into their thirties, forties, and beyond, they continue to lay their own problems and their personal shortcomings at their parents' doorsteps. Read more...