Muse
-
Generations (Not a Star Trek reference:)
![]()
Generations: this is how the Hertz Chumash translates the word "Toledot", whose root word is the basis for "yeled", or boy, and "yaldah", girl, and in general terms, offspring over time. But were it not for Rivka,(Rebecca), the offspring might not have lived up to the inheritance and purpose intended for them. -
The Life of Sarah
![]()
In Jewish practice, we bless our daughters and sons on Friday nights. We call down the blessings of heaven upon our daughters in the name of The Mothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. But why? -
May God Make You Like...
![]()
Who can forget the iconic Sabbath Blessing duet from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof"? The parents in each household in the shtetl, the Jewish village, make, in essence, (although in English) the same blessing over their children as their ancestors made, and as we say today,
" May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe", for boys, and
"May God make you like Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah" (Some put Leah first, as she became Jacob's wife before her younger sister, who was promised to him, did, but that's another story), for girls.
Like many of you, I never thought to question or examine this more deeply,
