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This week's reading is -- Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24).
Topics in Lech Lecha: Visiting the sick and hospitality to strangers, The promise of a son is revealed to Sarah, G-d’s love for Abraham, Abraham intercedes for Sodom, Sodom is destroyed, Lot—a perplexing hero, Lot is saved, Lot begs for a concession, Lot’s daughters and the birth of Moab and Ammon: The roots of Jewish monarchy, Abraham in Gerar: Sarah is abducted, Abimelech appeases Abraham and Sarah, The birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael are expelled, Ishmael is saved, The alliance with Abimelech at Beer-sheba, The tenth trial: The Akeidah/Binding of Isaac on the altar, The birth of Rebecca
The Torah Scroll (also known as the Sefer Torah - Scroll of the Law) is the Five Books of Moses (Chumash in book form) written on parchment made from a kosher animal. The Sefer Torah is hand-written by a specially trained scribe (sofer) according to exacting ritual. The Sefer Torah is the text used in the synagogue for the public reading of the Torah. The Torah in a book form is know as a Chumash.
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This week's reading is -- Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27).
Topics in Lech Lecha: G-d's call to Abraham, Abraham comes to Canaan, Abraham and Sarah in Egypt, The return to Eretz Yisrael, Abraham and Lot part ways, The repetition of the promise, The war of the kings, Sodom is defeated, Lot taken captive, Abraham saves Lot, Abraham shuns honor, G-d’s reassurance to Abraham, The Covenant Between the Parts: The promise of the land, Egyptian exile and redemption, The ratification of the covenant, Hagar and Ishmael, The covenant, New names and a new destiny, The promise to Sarah
The Tefillin are two leather boxes containing four passages of the Torah that refer to the Tefillin (Exodus 13:1-10,11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-8, 11:13-21). They are warn by religous Jews (men in Orthodoxy and some women in non-Orthodox sects) during morning prayer services. The Shema commands Jews to bind the words to our hands and between our eyes. This is accomplished by laying tefillin (phylacteries), binding to our arms and foreheads a leather pouch containing scrolls of Torah passages. The word "tefillin" is usually translated "phylacteries". The word "tefillin" is etymologically related to the word "tefilah" (prayer) and the root word for judgment. Like the mezuzah, tefillin are meant to remind us of G-d's mitzvot. At weekday morning services, one case is tied to the arm, with the scrolls at the biceps and leather straps extending down the arm to the hand, then another case is tied to the head, with the case on the forehead and the straps hanging down over the shoulders. Appropriate blessings are recited during this process. The tefillin are removed at the conclusion of the morning services.
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This week's reading is -- Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32).
Topics in Noach: Noah, decree of the flood, the flood, receding of the waters, Noah making an offering, G-d's covenant with Noah, the rainbow, shame of Noah, genealogy of Noah (the seventy nations), Tower of Babel, ten generations from Noah to Abraham
Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah) occurs at the conclusion of Sukkot on 23 Tishri (in September or October). No work is permitted on Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah celebrates the conclusion of the annual reading of the Torah and the immediate beginning of the annual cycle. It is a time to celebrate the central symbol of Judaism, the Torah through prayer and celebration. The last Torah portion, then proceed immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us that the Torah is a circle, and never ends. This completion of the readings is a time of great celebration. There are processions around the synagogue carrying Torahs and plenty of high-spirited singing and dancing.
Sukkot, the Harvest Festival, occurs on 15 Tishri (in September or October). The word Sukkot means booths, and refers to the temporary dwellings (sukkah) that we are commanded to live in during this holiday. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering. The festival of Sukkot is instituted in Leviticus 23:34. It is the third of the three pilgrimage festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Pesach and Shavuot). No work is permitted on the first and second days of the holiday. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one's meals there; however, if the weather, climate, and one's health permit, one should live in the sukkah as much as possible, including sleeping in it. It is common practice, and highly commendable, to decorate the sukkah. In the northeastern United States, Jews commonly hang dried squash and corn in the sukkah to decorate it, because these vegetables are readily available at that time for the American holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Another observance related to Sukkot involves what are known as The Four Species (arba minim) or the lulav and etrog. We are commanded to take these four plants and use them to rejoice before the L-rd. With these four species in hand, one recites a blessing and waves the species in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down, symbolizing the fact that G-d is everywhere). The four species are also held during the Hallel prayer in religious services, and are held during processions around the bimah each day during the holiday. These processions, known as Hoshanahs, commemorate similar processions around the alter of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.
Hoshanah Rabbah occurs on the seventh day of Sukkot (21 Tishri-in September or October). Seven circuits are made around the bimah while carrying The Four Species. For this reason, the seventh day of Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah (the great Hoshanah). It is celebrated by the beating of the aravah, prayer, and marching around the bimah.
Shemini Atzeret occurs on 22 Tishri (in September or October). It brings the celebration of Sukkot into a state of perfection and is celebrated by prayer and the ending of the stay in the sukkah. Shemini Atzeret literally means the assembly of the eighth (day). No work is permitted on Shemini Atzeret. (In Israel Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated on the same day).
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This week's reading is a double-portion -- Bereishit (Genesis 1:1-6:8).
Topics in Bereishit: the creation of the world and humans, the Sabbath, the Garden of Eden (Gad Eden), Cain and Abel, genealogy of mankind, prelude to the flood
