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rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 24, 20220 min read


Yitro - Out of Order to Preserve Order
If you were to try to create a ranking of the best Torah portions, it is likely that all Jews would have a slightly different list. (The...
rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 21, 20227 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 18, 20220 min read


B'Shalach - Transitioning Perspectives
Throughout the ages, science has attempted to prove the accuracy of the story described in Parashat B’Shalach, at the peril of failing to...
rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 14, 20227 min read


Parashat Bo: The Invention of Ritual
At the beginning of Parashat Bo, God is preparing to bring about the worst, most impactful plague upon Egypt. Knowing that the Israelites...
rabbiaustinzoot
Jan 7, 20225 min read


Vayechi - Setting the Standard of Disruption
From the origins of creation to the creation of Am Yisrael, the book of Genesis has endeavored to explain the inception of the world as...
rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 16, 20215 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 13, 20210 min read


Vayigash - Owning Our Trauma
Joseph would have had every right to punish his brothers. After reuniting with the men who had tried to kill him, sold him into slavery,...
rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 9, 20216 min read


December Bulletin Article: Why Should We Know This?
The following is a bulletin article written for the Valley Temple, in Wyoming, Ohio, where I serve as Rabbi Educator. Every educator is...
rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 7, 20212 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Dec 6, 20210 min read


Vayeishev - Risk for Reward
Thanks to Donnie Osmond, the world is quite familiar with the story of Joseph and his brothers. While we know the exquisite details of...
rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 25, 20216 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 22, 20210 min read


Vayishlach - What to Do With the Silence...
We have been reading the Torah for over two thousand years. The beauty of such a long relationship with a text is that we have poured...
rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 18, 20217 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 14, 20210 min read


Vayeitzei - Finding Holiness Alone
Jacob was terrified. He had just finished deceiving his brother, his much larger, stronger, and fitter brother, stealing his birthright...
rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 11, 20217 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 7, 20210 min read


Toldot: Family Systems at Work
One of the most damaging notions when thinking about our Torah is to assume the perfection of the characters described. It is not an...
rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 3, 20216 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 2, 20210 min read


rabbiaustinzoot
Nov 1, 20210 min read


Chayei Sarah: Finding Our Humanity Through Our Tribalism
Humanity has expanded rapidly since the days of the Torah. In his anthropological treatise, Sapiens, Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari...
rabbiaustinzoot
Oct 28, 20216 min read
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