Ever since the story of Adam, Eve and their Garden was crafted, readers have returned to the first couple time and again to figure out how all couples should act. On Valentine's Day, interpretations of their story serve both as cautionary tales and as inspiration for couples in the 21st century.

When there is only Adam and Eve -- only you and me -- then there's a kind of awakened awareness that comes to you, is there not?

Too rarely do we appreciate these cheery winter holidays as an opportunity for spiritual engagement, life review or reflection. Even more rarely do we pause to realize that the family and friends with whom we spend these celebrations are more than fellow partygoers, but potential sources of inspiration for our lives.

I have slowly (too slowly) begun waking from my own stupor to begin educating myself and changing my behaviors so that I might join others working to create more sustainable and just food systems.

The reward for this arduous work is revealed in the tearful and joyful reunion of Jacob and Esau, healing the many years of estrangement.

Is there a dispute among the theologians about the place of Genesis in scientific questions? Well, today there certainly is. But Augustine and Calvin, two of the greatest theologians ever, agree that Genesis is not a book of science.

The tension builds as the two brothers, accompanied by hundreds of followers, move toward each other: "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Differing regimes of interpretation raise urgent questions for us.

What was Jacob's special merit that God singled him out and named our people after him? You would think Jacob's chutzpah would garner a rebuke from God, not a reward.

Everybody knows that Isaac was blind. Why else, in this famous story, would he have allowed Jacob to deceive him and steal the blessings he seemingly intended for Esau, the first-born twin?

It's not a newspaper or a history book or a science book. But it is a book that lies at the heart of western culture, and it still has a claim on us, whether we believe in it or not.

When Rivka welcomes Eliezer and then draws water for his camels without being asked, she is telling him that his existence is a gift, that his needs are not a burden.

This week's Torah portion, Vayeira, takes us from the desert, to the cities, from valleys to mountains. In part, it explores the dynamics of closed and open doors and how we move through them.

There are some many right wing Christians inveighing against homosexuality that it's sometimes easy as a Jew to feel superior, or at least comforted. My people don't get that crazy. Then a rabbi like Noson Leiter makes a shameful claim.

After the natural disaster, begins the race among readers of holy texts to say something stupid regarding the "reason" for the suffering. This is especially tempting when the weekly Torah portion, Vayera, is the tale of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The scenes of floods from Hurricane Sandy are shocking. It seems natural for people to invoke the Bible at a time like this, whether to describe the massive devastation or to preach about its cause.

During the presidential debates, we did not hear a single question on climate change, arguably the defining issue of the 21st century. A common biblical justification lurks in the background of skirting this issue.

Abraham's greatest feat, the cause of his success in the world, was his ability to be truly "one." Alone and singular in his focus, Abraham is cast here as a great rebel who is forever breaking free from the idols of his society -- the original iconoclast.

Almost 70 years before "On Origin of the Species," Bartram wrote eloquently of the interrelatedness of the natural world, and out of this flowed concern to limit the suffering of non-human species.

In our own time, in our various places, too many of us have too many ways of remaining comfortable. We avoid the call to mindfulness and action that is the heartbeat of the world. How can we hear the voice urging us to serve humanity and all of God's creation?

If we're made in God's image, could it be possible that our Maker also experienced new parenthood as a crazy challenge, making God vulnerable -- metaphorically sleep-deprived -- and deeply in love with those helpless naked creatures.

In the United States, in the year 2012, we are seemingly beholden -- for the next few weeks, at least -- to powerful Congressmen serving on the House Science Committee who think that anything other than their beliefs amount to "lies straight from the pit of hell."

The human mission is to work, to produce, to develop -- but at the same time to preserve, to guard, to be vigilant that the work doesn't get out of hand. It must remain, in a word, sustainable.

How did a smart "creature of the field" come to be identified with the Prince of Darkness? That's an impressive leap in a reptile's résumé. The answer tells us a lot about the importance of Genesis, and how people thought about it, in the early years of Judaism and Christianity.

I believe you have been promoting bigotry and helping to perpetrate a fraud. During both of your interviews with Pastor Joel Osteen, you let the religious leader tell your audience that Scripture calls homosexuality a sin. But you didn't ask him where the Bible says that.