“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…
Aluminum, also known as Aluminium in lesser parts of the world, is a remarkable metal with many properties that make it indispensable to human thriving. It is a light metal, it’s number 13 on the periodic table of elements, exactly…
A Jew must pray three times a day, morning, evening, and night. The source of this law is the subject of an argument in the Talmud (Berachot 26b). One opinion holds that the forefathers originated the prayers, viz, Avraham instituted…
“Let them eat cake!” Those infamous words, allegedly uttered by the young Queen Marie Antoinette of France, are considered to be the ultimate example of willful naiveté, apathy, and economic hubris all wrapped into one succinct package. It didn’t bode…
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.…