Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

Every human being is a mystery that never fully unfolds.  Think, for a moment, about your own depths—how little about you actually makes it to the surface. How many of your desires, fears, quirks, and interests are subterranean, some known to a few, some known only to yourself, and a few hidden even from your own conscious thought. Like an eddy of water that the current passes by, the human soul has unplumbed depths that never fail to astonish, to delight, and to dismay.   Read more...

In antiquity, just as with the modern age, dreams occupied a prominent place in the human psyche and imagination.  The very word "dream" conveys a dual content: fantasies during sleep and our aspirations for the future.   Which are they?  Do dreams simply reveal the imagination of the mind liberated by the welcome presence of sleep?  Or, do drams clarify our own intentions, thereby illuminating our hopes and ideals for our relationships, careers, and activities in the time yet to come?   Read more...

Human life is fleeting. We are born, we age, we busy ourselves and we die. Viewed from the perspective of biology and materialism, our frenetic pace simply provides distraction before an inevitable doom. In that constricted space, our hearts yearn for something more – something significant and beautiful that can give life meaning and hope. Our lives are made full by our dreams.   Read more...

The great 20th Century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, taught us to recognize our own role in construing the world. In his remarkable work, Philosophical Investigations, he coined the phrase “seeing-as” to suggest that truly seeing something requires mental organization, selecting what is significant from what is trivial, collating memories, and a host of other activities that make the act of seeing a partnership between the one who sees and the object that is seen. “Seeing-as” is another phrase for mindful experience. Read more...

Isaac, the second Patriarch, has serious neighbor problems. Moving to Gerar, he has repeated conflicts with the local Philistine king, Avimelech, and with the men who work for the king. Residing outside the city, in a dried out river bed, Isaac’s servants dig a well to create a water supply, only so see the king’s servants claim the well. Them move a bit and dig another well, which in turn is confiscated. Finally, with the third well, Isaac and his group are able to drink in peace.   Read more...