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.
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, […]
I am Joseph; is my father still alive? (Genesis 45:3)These words are the climax of one of the Torah’s most dramatic stories. Joseph, the second most powerful person in Egypt, reveals his identity to his unsuspecting brothers. Question: Why did he wait 22 years before telling his father (Jacob) that he was safe and thriving in […]
Pharaoh had two disturbing dreams, neither of which could be explained by anyone in his court. Pharaoh’s wine steward had seen Joseph’s ability to explain dreams when the two were cell mates in prison. He suggested that Joseph, a young Hebrew slave, might be able to explain Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams. Desperate for a suitable interpretation, […]
Do you know anyone with these challenges? Should I take home some office supplies from the school I work at; no one will miss them? Should I be faithful in my marriage even though my spouse really irritates me or should have an affair with someone at work who understands me? Should I take that piece of cake […]
How to Deal with Anti-Semitic Supermodels (Introduction: After living with his deceitful father-in-law for twenty years, Jacob decided to depart with his family. He was informed that his brother—Esav—was on route with 400 to kill him.) If you were Jacob, what would you do when hearing about the impending danger? He did three things. 1) He […]
And these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac. (Genesis 25:19)For the past three weeks, the main character in each Parsha has been Abraham. This week, Isaac hits center stage but his appearance is enigmatic. Our first exposure to Isaac’s world is framed by his being the son of Abraham. Both […]
This week’s Torah portion finds Abraham summoning his trusted servant Eliezer to look for a wife for Isaac. This is actually a spiritual matter because Abraham realized that his son would be the one to carry on his teaching of what ultimately would be his greatest gift to the world, ethical monotheism. Not only was Eliezer the […]
Perhaps the most significant existential question ever asked has been, what am I doing here; what significance does my life have? It will pursue you throughout life even if you don’t want to confront it. Did you ever look up from your desk and say, “what am I doing? Does my life have any purpose? I’m going […]
Although 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 you will […]
Mario Zacchini, Sensational Human Cannonball, Dies at 87” was the headline of New York Times obituary for the last survivor of an era of men whose livelihood consisted of being propelled from a cannon across a circus tent into a net. He once said, “flying isn’t the hard part; landing in the net is.” Some people […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Vayigash (Genesis44:18-47:27) imagine the days before photos, fingerprints, and other ways to positively identify someone. If someone came to town claiming he was Person X, how could he prove it? Imagine a man marrying a woman and vanishing a week after the marriage and then showing up many years later. The […]
Pharaoh, the tyrant who would eventually enslave the Jewish people, had two dreams. The first involved seven robust cows emerging from the Nile and pasturing in the marshland. Then, seven emaciated cows emerged from the Nile and devoured them. The second dream involved seven healthy ears of grain growing on one stalk and seven thin, […]
The Talmud tells the story of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa’s daughter being sad one Friday after she had mistakenly put vinegar rather than oil into the Sabbath lamp. Rabbi Chanina responded, “Don’t worry, the One who told the oil to light, will tell the vinegar to light as well.” The lights remained burning the entire […]
The following is based on an address given in the Warsaw Ghetto on November 25, 1939. It discusses the Biblical story of Jacob’s wrestling an angel. This story obviously has much allegory as to the nature of the battle. In classical Jewish wisdom, the angel represents Jacob’s nemesis, his brother Eisav (Esau). Eisav is not only a physical person, […]
hen Jacob was fleeing from a brother who sought to kill him and (Jacob) was also looking for a wife; he had a vivid dream. He saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it … (Genesis. 28: 12-17)He ended up being successful in […]
Abraham clearly left Isaac as his successor but who would take over after Isaac? There were two sons; would it be the upstanding Jacob or the deceitful Easu? Rivka (Rebecca), their mother, took leadership of the situation and knew that Jacob was the rightful heir and was the mastermind behind a scheme, which required deception, […]
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 me use the facilities […]
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 pass by […]
This week’s Parsha introduces us to the first Jew, Abraham. During one of his early travels, a seemingly insignificant detail is given:And from there he relocated to the mountain, east of Bethel and pitched his tent there… (12:8)There seems to be gratuitous, insignificant details. After being informed of his new location, why do we need to know […]
The story of Noah and his generation needs no introduction. Civilization was collapsing; every sphere of society was crumbling. G-d tells Noah to build an ark and take refuge there with his family; the world was about to be flooded.When did Noah actually go in to the Ark?And Noah went in and his sons and his […]
(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 you will […]
And they brought the Mishkan (Tabernacle) to Moses… When all the parts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) had been made, they were brought to Moses, who actually stood the walls up and erected the Mishkan. Rashi quoting the Midrash explains that due to the massive weight of the materials, none of the people were able to erect it, so they brought the materials to […]
What Will Your Desk Say About You? There is significance to how the Torah is broken up into the sections we read each week. The name of the Parsha (weekly section) is usually the first word (or can be found in the first few words) of any given Parsha. This week’s reading is Yayechi-“he lived;” it […]
We have finally reached one of the dramatic scenes in the entire Bible. Joseph’s brothers had tossed him into a pit, then some passing merchants brought him out and sold him into slavery. When Reuven, the oldest brother retuned to the pit, it was empty. The brothers thought he (Joseph) was dead and didn’t know […]
Then there was an opportune day when he entered the house to do his work-none of the household staff were in the house-that she caught hold of him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled. (Genesis 39:11-12) This week’s Parsha contains one of the most […]
I read a story of an encounter that took place almost sixty years ago between American Rabbi and a wealthy congregant, who was bemoaning the lack of Judaism in his life. With deep nostalgia, he recalled the blissful days of his childhood in the shtetel (small village in Eastern Europe). There was a lump in his throat […]
Abraham and Sara as well as Isaac and Rebecca had difficulty having children but their grandson/son Jacob was the opposite. In a short period of time, he fathers many children (who ultimately become the Tribes of Israel). When Jacob’s wife Leah had her fourth child, she named him Yehuda (Judah), which means “thanks.” That means […]
And these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac. (Genesis 25:19) For the past three weeks, the main character in each Parsha has been Abraham. This week, Isaac hits center stage but his appearance is enigmatic. Our first exposure to Isaac’s world is framed by his being the son of Abraham. […]
