Bereishit

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Bereishit narrated in English by Ronald Guttman. Isaiah 42:5–43:10 Questions for Discussion: • The prophet rails against the people's lack of awareness that God is not only created all, but continues to be ever-present and involved in the world. When, if ever do you sense God's presence? Do you think that awareness is a choice? Would a consistent, conscious sense of God being among us cause you to behave differently? How? • Isaiah reminds us that we are God's witnesses - not just by talking about God, but by actions and character that lead others to sense God's presence through us. What behaviors and ways of being do you think “witness God”? Who embodies those traits today? • In interpreting the Divine message, Isaiah chose to use blindness and deafness as metaphors for ignorance and intransigence. Today we reject such ableist metaphors as hurtful, contributing to negative stereotypes about the disabled. One of the primary ways we "witness" God is through the gift of speech - what other common expressions and metaphors cause damage, and need to be rethought in order to better express God's vision? JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.