The creation of the world. The patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob and his sons go down to Egypt. Jacob blesses his sons before his death.
How Do You Wrap Your Chanukah Gifts? Here’s a rarely discussed Chanukah topic: How should one give a Chanukah present? Sometimes it’s sufficient to simply ship it with an attached note but usually we have to wrap it and hand deliver it. A research team set out to find out what impact wrapping has on a recipient’s appreciation […]
Becoming a Five Percenter“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.” – Thomas A. EdisonThinking must be a very hard thing if such a small percentage of people engage in it.Jacob vowed (Genesis 28:22) that he would build G-d’s house […]
You May Be A Hero But Don’t Realize It Around the same time that Jacob was fleeing from his brother (who sought to kill him), he was also looking for a wife. Suddenly he had a vision. He saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and angels of G-d were […]
In the Hike up Life’s Mountain, Don’t Wear Stilettos Finally, after much hardship, Isaac and Rebecca were expecting a child. Just as Isaac had been transmitting Abraham’s teachings, ideas so profound that they would eventually lead to the creation of the Jewish people. The expectation was that Isaac and Rebecca’s child would be the next […]
[This week was Yahrzeit of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of England. The Dvar Torah below is based on an article he wrote in 2011] A Jewish Hero: Dignified and Satisfied Who is the central character of the story of Judaism? In both of the other Abrahamic monotheisms (Christianity or Islam), the answer is […]
Outlast Your PastImagine a high school Physics student winning a national competition enabling him to work alongside Anton Zeilinger, the 2022 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. Zeilinger tells him that he wants to slow down the electric current in a circuit but then instructs him to increase the voltage in the circuit. This student knows […]
Teachers not PreachersAbraham is instructed to leave the comfort of his hometown and go to a place which has not been revealed to him.So, Abram went as G-d had spoken to him and Lot went with him; Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and Lot, his brother’s […]
What Does Your Ark Look Like? These are the offspring of Noah; Noah as a righteous man, perfect in his generation…(Gen. 6:9) Was Noah truly a great man OR was he great only in his generation but if he had lived in the generation of Abraham, he would not have been considered anything of significance? According to […]
Discovering Your Inner Youth It is the end of an era. Jacob has finally been reunited with his beloved Joseph and he lives the final seventeen years of his life in peace, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Joseph had two sons in Egypt and now Jacob, soon to die, talks to Joseph about them. Now, […]
How to Motivate Yourself to do Good ThingsAnd Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; is my father still alive? And his brothers could not answer him because they were terrified at his presence. (45:3)Instead of simply stating, “I am Joseph,” he added “Is my father still alive?” Anyone following the story knows that he […]
Learning to Recognize the Right People [While Joseph is still in prison, Pharaoh dreams of cows and sheaves and demands that someone interprets his dreams. The wine steward remembered Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, mentioned it to Pharaoh, and Joseph was freed and brought before Pharaoh, who acknowledges the truth of Joseph’s interpretation (about the impending […]
How Do You Wrap Your Chanukah Gifts?Here’s a rarely discussed Chanukah topic: How should one give a Chanukah present? Sometimes it’s sufficient to simply ship it with an attached note but usually we have to wrap it and hand deliver it. A group of researchers (https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-gift-wrapping-explains-why-sloppy-is-better-128506) set out to find out what impact wrapping has on a recipient’s appreciation […]
Kindness Explained This week’s Parsha begins with the sad tiding of Sara’s death. Abraham goes through a complicated negotiation in order to purchase a burial spot for her as well as delivering a eulogy. The Midrash applies a verse to these kind deeds: He who pursues charity and kindness will find life, charity, and honor. (Proverbs 21:21). […]
Don’t Write a Check, Make the TrekQuestion: Who is the oldest person in the Bible to have been circumcised and how old was he? Answer: Abraham was 99 years old when he circumcised himself. Even though he was in a lot of pain, he was distressed that no visitors were coming his way. Finally, […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Vayeira (Genesis 18:22) Don’t Write a Check, Make the TrekQuestion: Who is the oldest person in the Bible to have been circumcised and how old was he? Answer: Abraham was 99 years old when he circumcised himself. Even though he was in a lot of pain, he was distressed that no visitors […]
Are You Trading Your Happiness? We don’t need modern research to tell us that money can’t buy happiness, yet when an article comes out that provides concrete data or insights into the relationship between money and happiness, it is worthwhile to pay attention. Four years ago, Arthur Brooks wrote in an article documenting that while consumption has […]
What Does Your Ark Look Like? These are the offspring of Noah; Noah as a righteous man, perfect in his generation…(Gen. 6:9) Was Noah truly righteous OR was he righteous only in his generation? If he had lived in the generation of Abraham, he would not have been considered anything of significance. According to this explanation, […]
Shine Your Light: Reaction to the Tragedies in IsraelMost years the Haftorah this week contains the famous verse that the Jewish people will be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6). The light we have given the world has been made apparent due to the tragic events of this past week. If you want to get an indication […]
Shine Your Light: Reaction to the Tragedies in Israel Most years the Haftorah this week contains the famous verse that the Jewish people will be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6). The light we have given the world has been made apparent due to the tragic events of this past week. If you want to get an […]
The Talmud (Sotah 13a) relates a unpleasant circumstance that occurred when Jacob’s sons went to bury him. The entrance of the burial cave was blocked by their uncle (Esau), their father’s nemesis, who claimed the land belonged to him and wouldn’t allow Jacob to be buried there. Jacob’s sons got into a heated debate about the […]
And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; is my father still alive? And his brothers could not answer him because they were terrified at his presence. (45:3)Instead of simply stating, “I am Joseph,” he added “Is my father still alive?” Anyone following the story knows that he had been talking to the brothers until […]
[While Joseph is still in prison, Pharaoh dreams of cows and sheaves and demands that someone interprets his dreams. The wine steward remembered Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, mentioned it to Pharaoh, and Joseph was freed and brought before Pharaoh, who acknowledges the truth of Joseph’s interpretation (about the impending famine) and raises Joseph to be […]
…Joseph at the age of seventeen years was a shepherd with his brothers…and Joseph brought back evil reports about them to their father (Jacob). (37:2)This week’s Parsha tells the story of one of the early events that led to the Jewish people’s bondage in Egypt. Joseph spoke lashon hara (slander; evil reports) to his father about his brothers. This led to a […]
Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think. Thomas A. EdisonThinking must be a very hard thing if so, few people do it. Marx called religion the opiate of the masses, implying that people who believe in G-d don’t think. […]
Peanut Butter and Jelly When Leah gave birth to her fourth son, she named him Yehuda (Judah), meaning “thanks.” And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time, I will thank G-d. Therefore, she named him Yehuda… (Gen. 29:35). The Talmud (Brachot 7b) makes a remarkable comment on Leah’s thanks: From the creation of […]
Cold as Ice Isaac was Abraham’s successor but who would take over after Isaac? Two possibilities: Jacob or Esau? Their mother (Rebecca) knew that Jacob was the rightful heir and she masterminded a scheme. Esau didn’t take his loss well and jealously pursued his brother. But aside from that, Jacob’s life was wrought with misfortune, […]
Living in a Fishbowl Imagine yourself out of town on business. You want to work out in the local gym but don’t have a membership and they don’t sell one day passes. You might say, “I’d like to ask for a special favor. I’m not a member but could you be kind enough to let […]
And he (Abraham) lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold three men stood over him; and when he saw them, he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed down to the earth, and said: ‘My lord, if now I have found favor in your eyes, pass not away, please don’t […]
Allthough the story of Noah and the Ark is one of the most famous in the Bible, for many their first exposure to it was as a child. Most people don’t think it’s important enough to go back and view it as an adult. But this story is anything but simple; it contains profound, timeless […]
(Introduction: Cain and Abel were sons of Adam and Eve. Each son brought an offering. Cain’s offering, which was from inferior produce, wasn’t accepted by G-d; Abel’s offering was.) Cain was upset at being rejected; G-d asked, …why are you so angry and why has your face fallen? If you improve yourself, you will be forgiven. But if […]
