Archive for November 2025

CHAIYAE SARAH – Gainesville When I was 11 years old, I distinctly remember going to my grandfather’s 70th birthday.  This was in 1970. And, as is often the case, one moment has stayed with me throughout my life. That moment was when I saw my grandfather simply walking across the living room. I recall his…

PARASHAT VAYEIRA – GAINESVILLE The Torah likes to talk in coded language, or at least we read Torah as if it’s speaking in a coded language.  That’s what’s happening this week.  Take a listen to opening verse: וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה ‘God appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre.’ The ‘him’ in this case is…

Rabbi Cy Stanway – Gainesville The parasha this week is something of a pivot point, if you think about it.  But it’s a pivot point that has been somewhat misunderstood.  Let me explain.  You see, up to this point the Torah has been concerned with really big things. Creation of the universe. Adam and Eve,…