In this episode we talked about what it means to have the spirit of the Lord upon us. Jesus anointed by God to bring good tidings to the poor captured our thoughts and we began to understand that all of us have the spirit to bring good news to people who are vulnerable or thought of as less than human. We told stories of experiences when the Spirit captured our hearts, those moments when humanity won the day. Rabbi Fruithandler assigned everyone some homework: bring glad tidings to someone in customer service, someone who is struggling for the basic needs in life, anyone who needs to feel the love of humanity. Let the Spirit anoint you!

This is the difficult story of the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac, when Abraham is put to the test and told to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. It is a story in which Isaac's mother, Sarah does not appear, her name is not even mentioned, but we are feel her presence. God put Abraham, and in extension, Isaac to the test on Mt. Moriah, but not Sarah. When Abraham faltered she held firm. God promised her laughter, she believed and it was reckoned to her as righteousness. Please join us as we write a imagine a new midrash of Sarah.

When we began our conversation about the birth of Isaac and the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael we found it hard to have sympathy for Sarah. We did not see the reason for her words and actions. Rather we over sympathized with the ones sent away and with Abraham's distress Our ears heard the language in one way and only after deep consideration and remembrance were they open to hear a strong woman making a tough choice to carry out the will of God. What at first was understood, and accepted, as lessons from the negative became a great teaching about doing what has to be done for the sake of the future. Please join us in this learning experience.

The story of Sarah is a complicated one as is the woman herself. She endured captivity, barrenness, humiliation, and ultimately the greatest gift from God, to be the mother of a people and nation that extends to our day and beyond. She is the arrow of time of the Hebrew people, bringing us from the past into the promise of an unending future. She is a woman who is scarred and faith filled. She lived a very human life and God remained with her throughout. Please join us in our conversation about this extraordinary woman and her time that is not so very unlike our own.

Lekh Lekha opens chapter 12 and the beginning of Abram's journey from his father's house to the land that God will show him.It means go for yourself or to yourself to be a blessing. In the journey to becoming who we are created to be we become a blessing for everyone we encounter. To follow the call of God to the place He will show us is to trust fully in the promise that we will be blessed, and that we will be a blessing. It is a fearful journey into the unknown that has pitfalls and at times suffering, but in the end we are home. Like Abram we are not alone. We sometimes follow and are blessed and preserved by the people who are with us. Lekh Lekha.

In the final act of the creation of the world we tackle the story of the Tower of Babel. It is preceded by the genealogy of the descendents of Noah and for each one it says about the people, "according to their clans and languages, by their lands and nations." The introductory verse to the tower story is, "Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words." We have heard over and over God tell the people to go out all over the earth and multiply. This singularity of the people causes God to see that they are not living out the blessing and He separates them, he confounds their language to renew the blessing. This blessing is fearful and challenging. How do we accept and live God's blessing in our lives today?

This is a strange and somewhat disturbing vignette that happens after the covenant is secured of our hero Noah becoming drunk, getting naked and passing out. His youngest son, Ham, sees him, then tells his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth hide their eyes and cover their father's nakedness. When Noah awakens he curses Canaan, the son of Ham, to be the slave of his brothers and their progenitors. God is not mentioned in this story that deals with the excesses of wine and the effect it has on succeeding generations. How do we find God in the times of tribulation and difficulty? Who are we in this story of three siblings dealing with a drunken parent? How does this scene tell the story of our past, present, and future? Please join us.

In this episode, we talk about the Covenant between God, Noah, and all life on earth. We always understand the sign as a rainbow, but the Hebrew word for bow usually denotes the archer's bow. Mystically, the Arrow of Time pulls back the bow and shoots from the heart. It encompasses the soul of all that has passed and draws it through the present to carry us into the future. God sets his bow, and when he sees it in the clouds he will remember his covenant. The arrow from the heart of God to ours.

In this chapter the story of the raven and dove opens the cover of a message that leads to a profound expression of love and gratitude. The ark landed on Ararat but the earth is still covered with water. Noah releases first the raven then after the waters dry up he releases the dove that comes and goes until at last it does not return and it is then that God tells Noah to open the ark, bring out his family and all the creatures to fill the earth and multiply. Noah's first act when he steps on dry land is to build an altar and give thanks. The aroma of the offering leads God to say never again will the earth and all flesh be wiped away by flood. In our conversation we explore the meaning of these acts of faith and trust, love and gratitude. Please join us.

We continue our exploration of the Noah story with Noah, his family, and the creatures of the earth drifting on the flood waters. We talked about it as a new creation but is creation the right word to describe what comes after? In this story there are people, animals, birds, creepy crawly things, and mountains that are covered over. Noah's family and the contents of the ark have the ru'ah, the breath of life in them. And Noah has knowledge. How then do we describe what it is after God blows wind over the waters to reveal dry land that lay beneath? Please join our conversation.