Purple Sheet

This week’s parsha has one of the more troubling events in Bereshit. Dina, the only daughter of Jacob, was abducted, raped and ultimately... Read More

But there’s a side to you That I never knew, never knew All the things you’d say They were never true, never true And the games you play You would always... Read More

One of my favourite comments by Rashi, the foremost commentary on the Torah, appears in this week’s parsha. Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, is... Read More

This week’s Torah portion opens with the passing of Avraham’s wife, Sarah. It narrates the back and forth haggling between Avraham and... Read More

This week’s parsha has an episode that illustrates Avraham’s concern for others and why it was one of the reasons God choose... Read More

In this week’s Torah portion, we are introduced in earnest to Avraham, the forefather of the Jewish nation. He is told by... Read More

Looking hard into your eyes There was nobody I’d ever known Such an empty surprise – to feel so alone -Jackson Browne... Read More

And so it begins again. Bereshit/Genesis. Once again we commence the cycle of the weekly Torah readings. Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know... Read More

The holiday of Sukkot begins this Wednesday night. A number of years back, Rabbi Kalman Bauman – the principal of the excellent elementary school,... Read More

All vows, prohibitions, oaths, consecrations … that we may vow, swear, consecrate, or prohibit upon ourselves – [from the last Yom Kippur... Read More