I have things sprouting, blooming, growing all over my apartment—not mold! Although I’m sure there’s some of that as well. How do we decide whether to take the mandate, “We will do and we will hear” literally or not? That’s where I am this week as I reflect on my recent ordination and all the craziness in the world that calls for immediate action.

Buddhist psychotherapist Bruce Tift says we use the excuse of our wounds to avoid showing up in our lives. I posit that the Israelites do the same. They miss out on an incredible opportunity. Listen for some wisdom—and revelation!

In life, we go from ecstasy to complaint and back again. It’s not a straight journey. So too with the Israelites. We need song and celebration to give us strength, but these are complex, reflecting the complexity of our hearts.

Don’t we all suffer from imposter syndrome to some extent? Moses, and even God, does. Is it self-sabotage when God repeatedly hardens Pharaohs heart? Or is there a more subtle message and meaning behind it?

I’m just landing from my trip and the high of being ordained, and it’s hard to integrate all of it, and so easy to fall back into old patterns. It’s hard to learn to listen to the body in order to prevent a crash. This is when illness descends. We’ve all been there. Va-era is about difficulty speaking and difficulty hearing. It’s about how we shut down due to trauma. And it has some hints about how to overcome it.

I’m officially a rabbi now! And I really like keeping things real, as hard as these truths are to say. It’s how I was brought up, and it remains a big part of my values. You can hear my ordination speech here, and how it relates to the week’s parsha.

As I am about to be ordained in just five days, I am ending and beginning. So is Genesis and the Jewish people. How will my leadership change, and who will lead the Jewish people? What happens to Joseph? Listen for a really interesting commentary coming from Leon Kass in The Beginning of Wisdom. Also—Have you ever thought of writing your own eulogy? Or death-bed confession, your Viduy? Whaaat?? Yup. Listen.

Are we Israel? From dust to dust? Or are we like the Egyptians who want everlasting life? What do we learn from Jacob and Joseph about doing honest life review? Listen and find out!

We can not heal if we are not whole, if our souls are divided. This is the state of Joseph’s soul, caught between his loyalty to Pharoah and his family of origin. The question remains, what are Joseph’s true colors?

Dreams and fear don’t mix well. If I’d let fear stop me from fulfilling my dream of becoming a rabbi (in just three weeks!!), I wouldn’t be here today! And. The parsha starts out with us wondering about whether Jacob continuing to live in his father’s fear, and passing down that fear to future generations.