Vayigash תשפ"ד After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, they hurried home to tell their father Yaakov that Yosef was still alive and that he was the ruler of Egypt, second in command only to Pharaoh. Yaakov’s response was to…
Last night we had a Chanukah party at my house. I was busy preparing for an important lecture, so I was hoping to stay out of the kitchen entirely. But just when I thought I was free and clear, I…
Vayeshev תשפד The second verse in this week’s parsha (Genesis 37:2) starts out telling us about Yaakov’s descendants, but then focuses only on Yosef. (ב) אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף 2) These are the chronicles of Yaakov, Yosef … …
Dying, like birth, is something best done alone. But while in birthing there are occasional Buy One Get One Free twin deals, when it comes to dying, if two people are dying together it is usually the result of a…
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 smoke, but if we ourselves smoke, it will be futile. They think,…
“There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) This of course also applies to the topics we humans love to fight about. For millennia we’ve been arguing about the ideal temperature in the house in winter time, and an…
Vayetzei תשפ"ד Yaakov had 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 Be’er Sheva and…
I can’t wait for the self-driving car. I can’t wait to get into my car, which will know where I’m going because it’s connected to my calendar, and take out a book and start reading, or take out my laptop…
Toldot תשפ"ד Antisemitism (Hatred of Jews), a phenomenon that dates back to the Jewishsojourn in Egypt, has perplexed pundits, Jew and non-Jew alike, for millennia.What is the source of the world’s deep hatred for us?Were the Jewish people a militant…
I remember seventy-six cent gas. Just saying that makes me feel like a dinosaur, but I do remember gas selling for seventy-six cents a gallon. I had a good buddy who lived down in Memphis, and he once took a…