Click HERE (video) for: Developing a Jewish Prayer Life – Beyond the Book, At Ripe Times. Isaac and Rebecca turn to God in prayer at the times they need to most. Are we going beyond the Shema or Amidah? How do our ancestors’ personal pleas and prayers regarding abundance, times of suffering or extending their hearts and praying for others inform when, how and what we pray?
Click HERE (video) for reflections on Genesis 26:5 and Rashi’s commentary: Summing Up Abraham’s Life – Listening for God’s Voice, Living by God’s Commandments.
Click HERE (video) for the teaching: The Voice of Jacob, The Hands of Esau – The Function of the Dysfunctional Blessing. The Talmud separates out Isaac’s words to the disguised Jacob, in order to teach a lesson about what kind of blessing Jacob is really asking for. Recalling that Abraham and Isaac would be fathers of many nations the Sages of the Talmud ignore the straightforward deception and simple sense of the narrative and create homily from Jacob’s request for a blessing.