Bible study Zoom link: bit.ly/NafTorah

Lot, family flee as Sodom burns               image curtesy of holyuspiritspeaks.org

God tests Abraham twice. Why are the outcomes so different?

Abraham faces two tests in this week's Torah portion (Vayera, Genesis 18:1-22:24). The first is when God clues him in on God's plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great wickedness. The second is when God asks him to bring his son Isaac for a sacrifice.

In the first case, Abraham repeatedly challenges God's ethics in wiping out entire cities even if there are a number of good people living there. And God agrees that if even 10 righteous people can be found, God will spare the cities. (They can't be found, so God goes ahedad and destroys them.)

In the second case, Abraham blindly follows God's instructions to take Isaac to a mountaintop, where Abraham thinks God wants him to sacrifice Isaac. How did the God-arguer become the obedient executioner (even if Isaac ultimately is spared)?

That's only one of many twists and turns in this week's reading. Please join us online at 7pm to examine them.

##########

UPCOMING AT NAFSHENU

-A message from Rabbi David-

Please join Nafshenu in celebrating Shoshana Walters as she becomes a bat mitzvah

Shoshana Walters gets her first call to the Torah this Shabbat at a family event that blends her parents' Jewish and Hindu traditions. I am so excited for Shoshana, Greg, and Alamelu and their extended families.

Next Shabbat, our Nafshenu community is honoring the Walters family on Friday, November 14, with a celebratory kabbalat Shabbat service and meal. Please share the joy with them. We'll be in our regular space at Prince of Peace Church. The evening event starts at 6pm.

#############

Shabbat morning service and potluck, Saturday, Nov. 22, at POP

Nafshenu's first Shabbat morning service of the year 5786 takes place the following week, Saturday, November 22, with a potluck lunch afterward. We've got a Torah portion that's engaging -- if morally disturbing. It tells about the birth of Isaac and Rebecca's two sons, Jacob and Esau. The heart of the account is the favoritism shown by their parents (Dad loves Esau, Mom loves Jacob) that leads to deceit, fraud, and a long estrangement between the brothers.  

Come for a discussion of the challenges we face in confronting problematic elements of our heritage. We start at 10am at Prince of Peace.

#############

Become a Nafshenu donor, using our new Firstrust banking system

Nafshenu depends on regular support, as well as High Holiday gifts and one-time donations. This fall, we shifted to a new bank, locally based Firstrust (official bank of the Philadelphia Eagles.) That served us well over the holidays, smoothing our own fundraising and helping us channel hundreds of dollars in donations to the food pantry at Prince of Peace Church.

What we couldn't do is automatically transfer the regular monthly donation system that a number of Nafshenu members were using to support us. If you were a monthly donor, thank you! We are working to create a similar monthly support process with our Firstrust account. In the mean time, your rabbi and Core Team ask you to please donate today, using the link: 

bit.ly/NafGIVE

The US government shutdown has disrupted federal food aid through SNAP and is causing a rush of demand for private food programs like the one at Prince of Peace. Please help with a cash donation to help it meet the challenge: 

bit.ly/POPpantry

#############

As your rabbi, I love hearing from you. Please call, text or email me, whether you have a pressing issue or just want to talk.

Best wishes,

 David Goodman

248-508-0874, rebdovid@nafshenu.org