Thinking Torah Blog

Isaac encounters God in a dream in Toldot, this week’s Torah portion. In that dream, God says, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your offspring for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

Many of us are familiar with the Amidah, the central prayer of our services, beginning, “Blessed are You, Adonai our God, God of our fathers and mothers—God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Rachel, and God of Leah.” In both moments—Isaac dreaming and we praying—we do not encounter God alone. We meet the Divine accompanied by those who came before us. We stand as Jews who belong to a people and who understand God through communal encounter.

In a world that often feels unsteady, the reminder that we encounter the Divine together feels especially important.

As a rabbi, I have the joy of working within our community nearly every day of the week. I meet with students, teach classes, wrestle with challenges alongside our board, and have the honor of leading this congregation in prayer. And while I love this work, what moves me most is not what I do but what we create together, how we show up for one another in all the ordinary and extraordinary moments of Jewish life. More and more, I see the sacredness in the way we gather, learn, and pray as a community.

We are a fortunate group of people who get to call Temple Beth Emeth our spiritual home. As Martin Buber teaches, when we encounter one another in the sacred Thou, we encounter the face of God. I see this in our conversations, in the questions we explore, in the melodies we share, and in the simple kindnesses we offer each other. TBE helps me encounter God through us, and for that, I feel deeply blessed