A3 Listing all the names is a way of bringing much of the family into the narrative - it's not just Joseph, the prominent brothers, and Jacob. #ParshaChat

A1 Joseph's response when he finally introduces himself to his brothers seems well-considered and strategic. Telling them it was all part of God's plan to get the family from Egypt where they can be saved from famine would reduce the tensions. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's been a rainy week here in California with a lot of storm damage, though not where we are. #ParshaChat

A2 I think they have long-standing guilt over what they did to their brother, and they have a worldview saying that the cosmos can align to punish them for their deeds. #ParshaChat

A1 It feels like Joseph wants revenge on his brothers, so he is going to toy with them for now, but ultimately he wants them to be taken care of and survive the famine. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I made my annual batch of latkes on Thursday which were yummy. #ParshaChat

A2 There's not a lot of concern being shown to others in this chapter; the characters are for the most part looking to their own advantages. The midwife is caring for Tamar at the very end though. #ParshaChat

A0 Shabbat shalom, all! We've had three weeks of unrelenting fog and chilly dampness here in the Central Valley. Brrr. Looking forward to #ParshaChat.

A3 Laban may be saying this now because after a month of residence Jacob is no longer just a family guest and they are both trying to figure out how Jacob now fits into the economy of the family. #ParshaChat

A2 It seems like Jacob is hedging his bets. If he doesn't manage to return to the land of his ancestors, maybe the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham is not the god for him. #ParshaChat

A1 As a whole-parsha look, it feels appropriate that it begins with Jacob's dream of the stairway to heaven. The rest of the parsha covers a long period of time, but we're led to think it's like a few days, which is very dream-like compression. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! We have't seen the sun here for about ten days which is getting rather tiresome. Looking forward to #ParshaChat.

A2 Isaac is showing concern for Rebekah when he is pleading on her behalf to God; Jacob is being quite self-centered in claiming the birthright from Esau over a bowl of stew. #ParshaChat

A1 I like the characterization of Abraham of being contented in his old age and when he dies. Jacob isn't showing a side to empathize with in this passage but I relate to him maybe because he's being the studious homebody who likes to make lentil soup. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! We've been watching the Ken Burns series on the American Revolution which is excellent. Looking forward to #ParshaChat.

50th anniversary of Franco's death. I was in boarding school at the time, worried about my parents in Madrid.

A3 God is doing due diligence to see if the actions of the people of Sodom really warrant annihilation of the city. #ParshaChat

A2 Perhaps God is thinking that Abraham would have doubts about the project of becoming a great and populous nation if Abraham was aware that God was prone to smiting nations down. #ParshaChat

A1 Abraham getting up and offering bread and a meal to the three visitors is definitely showing care about them, as is Abraham thinking about innocent lives that are at risk in Sodom. #ParshaChat

A0 The #ParshaChat tag is showing up, which is good to see. Looking forward to the discussion of Vayera.

A0 Shabbat shalom all! It's been a good week overall here. Looking forward to talking about Lech Lecha. #ParshaChat

A3 God seems to have learned that there always will be some corruption, and it's best to develop systems that will ameliorate it rather than wipe everything out. #ParshaChat

A2 God might have gone the route of destruction of everything followed by a complete restart, but God left a thread of continuity. Why was that? #ParshaChat

A1 I'm wondering how the earth itself becomes corrupt, beyond the corruption of humanity. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! Cloudy here and tired today but I'm hanging in there. Looking forward to #ParshaChat.

For @rincewind.run. #NoKings in Davis, Ca.

A2 Kohelet is contradicting himself since earlier he is saying there's a time for wailing and time for dancing. That is, it's not universally better to go to a house of mourning than a house of revelry. #ParshaChat

A1 The opposite side of "All is futility" is "All is delight". Kohelet does not spend much time thinking about delight in the world but that is where real value is to be found. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! Tired but I'm doing okay. #ParshaChat

A2 By Ha'azinu, Moses has found his poetic voice, and is much better in using language to express himself than back in Exodus 4. #ParshaChat

A1 I'm getting a sense of contrast between God dwelling in a wild rocky landscape where eagles are happily nesting and the agricultural plain below where the people are becoming fat on the yields and spurning God. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's been quite the week. But I had a meaningful Yom Kippur and I am happy about that. #ParshaChat

A3 For the record of teaching to be a witness maybe it implies that the book is sentient. #ParshaChat

A2 The hazards seem to be being defeated by the other nations, going astray with other gods, and various unspecified evils and troubles. #ParshaChat

A1 I like the way that the safeguard against the Israelites going astray once they enter the land is to learn a poem. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom. Mournful here - my mother-in-law just passed away. My spouse is back east gathered with her siblings and I have been staying put looking after the cats. #ParshaChat

Happy Glenn Gould's birthday to all who celebrate. 🎹🙌🎈 My mother took me to one of his last live recitals when I was 12 years old. I still can't talk about it without crying. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqwZ...

A2 The bit in 23:15 about needing honest weights and measures to endure long on the earth is interesting since it suggests that having technologies for carrying out grifts is the sort of thing that will lead to societal breakdown. #ParshaChat

A1 Returning lost animals and objects is important for maintaining and developing community ties. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's been a quiet week and it's not as hot as it has been, which I'm glad about. #ParshaChat

A2 The text sees worshiping other gods and the sun and the moon and heavenly host as very dangerous. This leads to the question of what would constitute legitimate study of the sun, moon, and heavens and what would be dangerous worship. #ParshaChat

A1 It's interesting how the instructions for baffling cases are to head to a designated place for the meeting with the magistrates. That is, certain places have special significance to God. Why is that? #ParshaChat

A0 Shabbat shalom, all! Looking forward to #ParshaChat.

A3 It's interesting that the text emphasizes that only one spot is to be used. Why couldn't there be sacrificial sites in each of the tribal territories? One reason might be the hierarchy of priestly expertise: the sacrifices may need to be supervised by the most senior priests. #ParshaChat

A2 It seems important to remember that many of the rituals of the Israelites are new ones, less than forty years old. There is the worry that the rituals are not ingrained enough if people start to learn about the practices already present in the place. #ParshaChat

A1 It's interesting that destroying all the altars in the land is emphasized a lot in the text. Is this injunction guarding against the risk that the Israelites will lose their identity otherwise? #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's been hot this past week - it's not fun to have the temperature in the 90s at sunset. #ParshaChat

A2 The verse seems to say even though you may have some accomplishments, don't be so proud of them, since they're always built upon the works of your greater community and ultimately God. #ParshaChat

A1 I'm struck by the description of a good land, where there is lots of water and fruit is growing on its own all over the place. This is obviously contrasting with the desert which has neither, but maybe it is also contrasting with Egypt, a place with river-flood irrigated agriculture. #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! A quiet week here, but I'm still glad it's Shabbat. #ParshaChat