Parshat Vayeshev 5782
Vayeshev תשפב For 20 years, Yaakov hid in Lavan’s house from his brother Esav, who had vowed to kill him. Just after Yosef was born, Yaakov told his family, “It’s time to leave and return to my parents’ home.” What…
Vayeshev תשפב For 20 years, Yaakov hid in Lavan’s house from his brother Esav, who had vowed to kill him. Just after Yosef was born, Yaakov told his family, “It’s time to leave and return to my parents’ home.” What…
Parshat Vayishlach תשפב Our world has come to realize that we most successfully educate our children by example, not speeches. We can instruct our children from morning till night not to gamble, but if we ourselves gamble, it will be futile.…
Vayetzei תשפב Yaakov was forced to leave home because his brother Esav had vowed to kill him. This week’s portion begins with Yaakov’s journey (Genesis 28:10): י) וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה 10) Yaakov left Beer Sheva and travelled towards Charan.…
Toldot תשפא Parshat Toldot is the Torah’s only parsha in which all three patriarchs, viz, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, were alive at one time. Although we read of Avraham’s death at the end of last week’s portion, and this week’s portion begins…
Chayei Sarah תשפב Sarah our Matriarch has died at age 127, and the Torah describes how her husband Avraham comes to eulogize her (Genesis 23:1,2): וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה: (ב) וַתָּמָת שָׂרָה בְּקִרְיַת…
Parshat Vayeira תשפב ספר בראשית פרק יח (א) וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְדֹוָד בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא ישֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם: Genesis 18:1: Hashem appeared to him (Avraham) in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent…
Parshat Lech Lecha תשפ"ב This week's portion introduces us to Avraham Avinu, Avraham our forefather, who was so dedicated to Hashem that he made it his life’s mission to teach the world about Him. Hashem, in turn, loved Avraham so much that…
Parashat Noach תשפ"ב Although this coming Shabbat we will read the portion of Noach, we will here focus on Shabbat, a topic from last week’s portion, Bereshit. A Jewish wedding takes place under a chuppah חופה) , –canopy). The canopy signifies the roof of the…
Yom Kippur During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, the second verse, ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, is said silently. On Yom Kippur, however, in the evening and…
Rosh Hashanah The Torah (Deuteronomy 29:1) calls Rosh Hashanah “יום תרועה” a day of “teruah.” The exact meaning of the word “teruah” is a mystery, and a bit of detective work was necessary to define it. The first step was…