Life is hard. How is that for an obvious statement! We all face difficulties of some kind.

Everyone knows that the Patriarchs of Israel are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We read about them in the Scriptures and especially in the prayers of the Jewish people.

This week’s Torah portion brings us to a transition. Abraham and Sarah die, and we read about the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael. We also read the beginning of the story of Jacob. In the Jewish world we like to say dor l’dor (i.e., from generation to generation).

This week concludes the story of Joseph and his brothers as well as the book of Genesis. In Genesis, we are reminded that God has preserved

All of us come from somewhere. Even if the circumstances of our birth were not ideal, or we do not know our birth Mom and/or Dad, or our