Toldot

How can we best help each other in these challenging economic times? Last week we read about Avraham negotiating the purchase of a burial cave so he could honour Sarah with an eternal burial site. But we also read about the small acts of kindness that led Eliezer to know that Rivka would be the one to restore Yitzhak’s heart to wholeness. This week in Toldot we read of famine in the land – a recurring theme in Torah. Hardship, famine drought are not new events, due to climate change, but have always caused peoples to move from their homelands in search of food, water, and their survival.

You may have noticed I placed a call for us to gather on November 27th, Sunday at the JCC at 1 pm; I want us to bring our home-tested practices forward about how we can best feed and care for our families when finances are stretched thin. How can we best help others in our community who are really struggling – whoever they are?

Torah, our mitzvot, demands we reach beyond our doorways and help, in all manner of ways. Please come and join us with your tried-and-true measures for stretching your food dollars. In Toldot we read about the famous ‘potage,’ that lentil stew by which Yaakov entices his brother to give him his blessing. Lentils (loaf, burgers, soup…) are a basic in our home – let’s bring forward the blessing of sharing our own recipes on the 27th.

With love,Rabbi Lynn