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 […]

Toldot  Genesis 25:19–28:9  By Jen Smith   Parshat Toldot is, at its core, a story about family: its beauty, its tensions, and the deep spiritual work of raising the next generation. In the opening lines, we meet two children who could not be more different: Esau, a ruddy, outdoorsy, rough and tumble boy, and Jacob, the […]

Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1 – 25:18  By Jen Smith  Parashat Chayei Sarah opens with a paradox: Chayei Sarah literally means “the life of Sarah,” but ironically, it begins with her death. When I first began reading and studying the Torah portions week by week, I was startled by the abrupt beginning of Chayei Sarah. After […]

Vayera Gen. 18:1 – 22:24 By Jen Smith, Torah Blogger In Parshat Vayera, amidst miracles and moral upheaval, we encounter a quiet, luminous phrase: El Roi – the God who sees me.[1] These are the words of Sarah’s handmade, Hagar, an Egyptian servant who must have felt afraid or invisible, used, and abandoned. And yet, […]

Lech-Lecha Genesis 12:1–17:27 By Jen Smith When God first speaks to Abram, the words are startlingly simple: Lech-Lecha…Go forth from your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) There’s no roadmap. Instead of opening the chapter of Abram’s story with declaration of faith or theology, […]