Vayechi Genesis 47:28-50:26  By Jen Smith  Parshat Vayechi opens with a quiet paradox: “And Jacob lived…” Sounds like the perfect beginning, until you realize that the entire portion unfolds under the shadow of death. Jacob prepares to leave this world, and Joseph follows soon after his father. And with them, the book of Genesis comes to an end.  In Jewish mysticism, rather than an ending, this is […]

Vayigash Genesis 44:18-47:27 By Jen Smith Vayigash is one of the most emotionally intimate passages in the Torah. After years of betrayal, silence, and longing, Judah steps forward (vayigash elav – and he drew near) and everything changes. Joseph decides he can no longer hold back, so he reveals his identity to his brothers, cries […]

Miketz Genesis 41:1-44:17  By Jen Smith  Parshat Miketz begins with timing: Miketz shnatayim yamim – At the end of two years. Two years of waiting. Two years of silence. Two years in which Joseph remains suspended between promise and fulfillment.   In our Jewish tradition, waiting is never empty; it is a hidden stage of becoming.  Pharaoh’s dreams come to him because something unseen has ripened. Before wisdom can appear in the world, […]

Vayeshev Genesis 37:1–40:23  By Jen Smith  Parashat Vayeshev opens with a simple line that is anything but simple: Vayeshev Yaakov b’eretz megurei aviv – And Jacob settled in the land where his fathers dwelled (Genesis 37:1). After decades of turmoil including Esau’s rage, Laban’s deceit, and a lifetime of wandering, Jacob understandably longs to settle, […]

Vayishlach Genesis 32:4 – 36:43  By Jen Smith   Parshat Vayishlach opens with Jacob preparing for one of the most emotionally charged encounters in the Torah: meeting his estranged brother Esau after twenty years. This is not a simple reunion – it is a confrontation with fear, guilt, memory, family history, and the shadows of old […]

Vayetzei  Genesis 28:10 – 32:3  By Jen Smith  Parashat Vayetzei opens with one of the most iconic and mysterious scenes in the Torah. Frightened and alone, Jacob lies down in the wilderness with nothing but a stone for a pillow. As night falls, he dreams of a sulam, a ladder connecting earth and heaven, with […]