Jewish Religion

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Sarah lived to be 127 while Abraham lived to be 175. Chayei Sarah, can be translated as “The Lifetime of Sarah.” From the Talmud we learn, “the righteous are called living even after death.” Perhaps this is why the prominence of Sarah’s life is highlighted in the

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — And here is where, it seems, many of our current troubles all begin, more than 4,000 years ago. Careful reading of this week’s parasha may help us understand some of the mysteries enveloping today’s events. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — In this, the third Torah reading of this remarkably eventful new year, we learn in Lech Lecha of the spiritual trajectory of our lives. Hashem tells Avraham, “Lech Lecha,” go for yourself, “me’artzecha,” from your homeland, “mimoladitecha,” from your birthplace, “u’mi’beit avicha,” and from your father’s house

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Look at the world Noach lived in. Greed, oppression, corruption, sexual excess, and worse. Wait. What’s changed? Look at our world. How do we cope without an ark to escape into? Floods, figuratively at least, surround us. Our response, our Jewish response, is to continue to be resilient,

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.  SAN DIEGO — As we learn from “The Parsha Song” from Torah Island by Suki and Ding, “With Bereishit we begin learning Torah, How precious we hold our Mesorah, Bereishis, Noach, Lech Lecha, Vayeira, Chayei Sarah, Sarah lived for 127 years…” And on we go. Yes, new beginnings often combine excitement