The Torah reading for the first day of Rosh haShanah, the Jewish new year, is not, as one might expect, the creation of the world (Rosh haShanah was Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, 9/18-9/20). Instead, the set reading is Genesis… Read More ›
Hagar
Hagar and Intersectionality by Marilyn Batchelor
I began to follow Kimberlé Crenshaw a little more than five years ago when I first learned of her theory of intersectionality as a more concise description of oppressions stemming from race, age, gender, sex/sexual orientation, religion and socio-economic status. … Read More ›
A Letter to the Editor: Hagar Has Her Say by Marilyn Batchelor
Dear Editor: I just want to set the record straight. I’ve heard stories about me being an ungrateful slave girl who was disrespectful to my master and mistress. I hear folks saying I went in and slept with my mistress’ husband, as… Read More ›
The Women of Lech Lecha by Ivy Helman.
The parshah for this week is Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27). I’ve actually written about Lech Lecha on this forum before, concentrating on the parental aspects of the divine. See here. However, this time I want to look at the Torah… Read More ›
Divine Physics: A Poetic Reflection on Ecclesiastes 3:14 by Lori Stewart
Ecclesiastes 3:14 – I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all that should stand in awe before him. Nothing can be added… Read More ›
The God of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar by Race MoChridhe
The morning air is hot around the pillars of Jerusalem stone, but the congregation is already tired. The prayers are old, pro forma and remote, drawing power now from the sound of the Hebrew more than from the meaning of… Read More ›
And Thus God made a Covenant with Hagar in the Wilderness by Michele Stopera Freyhauf
We are familiar with the covenant God made with Abraham and Moses, but are you aware that God also made a covenant with Hagar? In the wilderness Hagar encounters a deity at the well named Beer-lahai-roi (Genesis 16). Water and… Read More ›
Hagar – Demoted Servant or Egyptian Princess? By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
A socio-political examination of Genesis 16 explores how ancient myth can influence the story of Hagar and Sarai. Socio-political events could have occurred between the Egyptians and King Solomon that influenced the writing of this text. According to John Currid… Read More ›
Hagar: A Portrait of a Victim of Domestic Violence and Rape
This week Twitter has been a flurry with information for victims of domestic violence and rape. This ranges from the U.S. redefinition of rape to include men to Nigeria’s first anti-rape toll free hotline for women. There is even a… Read More ›
