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.
This week’s reading elaborates on the final chapter of Jacob’s life, when his eyesight failed him in his old age. Joseph (Jacob’s son) brought his sons for a final blessing from their grandfather. He moved them towards Jacob, who kissed and hugged them. Joseph then took his sons off of Jacob’s lap, carefully presenting them […]
Imagine a trusted colleague at work with a flawless track record of decision making. If that person brought his father to work one day and ushered him into your office to meet you, what is the first question you would ask him? Put your response on hold as we delve into the most dramatic scene […]
No one in Pharaoh’s inner circle was able to interpret his two disturbing dreams. Joseph’s reputation for interpreting dreams was his ticket out of prison and Pharaoh accepted his explanation. A famine was coming but it would be preceded by seven years of plenty. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried […]
This week’s Parsha begins with the story of Joseph and his brothers. When we look at the first part of Joseph’s life, he appears to be someone who keeps failing. However, when we look more deeply into it, we will see a new perspective on how to define failure and success. If an entrepreneur starts […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Vayetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3) Becoming an Entrepreneur of Self This week’s Parsha ends with the pact made by Yaakov (Jacob) and Lavan (Laban) in Gilead. Yaakov and his family left Lavan’s home without telling him, and Lavan pursued and ultimately caught up with them. A formal treaty was made; neither would harm the other […]
The birth and development of two of the most seminal personalities in Jewish consciousness is the subject of this week’s Parsha. And the youths grew up, and Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Jacob was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents. (Genesis 25:27) Rashi quoting the Midrash interprets […]
A Jewish Hero: Dignified, Satisfied, and Serene One of the most striking features about Judaism in comparison with, say, Christianity or Islam, is that it is impossible to answer the following question: Who is the central character of the drama of faith? In both of the other Abrahamic monotheisms the answer is obvious. In Judaism, […]
Rabbi O’s weekly Parsha: Vayeira (Genesis 18 Imagine driving late at night on a deserted highway. Your car breaks down, there’s no cell phone reception, you do not have food or water, and there is no sign of civilization. All of the sudden, a car pulls over and a kind-hearted man asks if you need […]
Why Are You Here? This week’s Parsha introduces us to Abraham, the first Jew. G-d told him to leave his native land, birthplace, and his father’s house and go to an unknown land. And G-d said to Abram, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land […]
After the flood God makes a covenant with Noah and his family. Although God will eventually make a covenant with the Jewish people at Sinai, He enumerates seven laws not only for Noah and family but also for all non Jews. They are the basis of morality and the foundation of a principled […]
This week’s Torah reading is the conclusion of the book of Genesis. Jacob’s family has been reunited and before he dies, he blesses his children and grandchildren. Among those blessings is one that became a permanent fixture in Jewish life from that time forward. Jacob tells Joseph (Genesis 48:20) that in the future parents will […]
This week’s Parsha is the climax of the drama of Joseph and his brothers. His brothers still think the man before them is the Egyptian Viceroy and Yehuda(Judah), their leader, argues that the youngest brother, Benjamin, should not be taken as a slave. And Yehuda (Yehuda) approached (Joseph) and he said, ‘Please my master, allow […]
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the story of Joseph, who was suffered the trauma of being abducted by his own brothers and sold into slavery. He was taken to a foreign environment (Egypt) and imprisoned there. How did he retain his sanity and not lose hope? What was the secret of his resilience? […]
One of the most famous sibling rivalries in the Torah is that of Yaakov (Jacob) and Eisav (Esau). Eisav and his army have finally caught up with Yaakov and fear is in the midst. …We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is heading toward you with four hundred men. And Jacob became very […]
Leah and Rachael are two Matriarchs central to the Jewish narrative. Leah had one child after another but Rachel remained barren. When she finally did have a child, it was a son and she named him Joseph (Yosef), from the Hebrew asaf, “gathered in.” She conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘G-d has gathered […]
Over the centuries many people have debated the morality of the Biblical story of Jacob taking the blessings of the birthright from his brother, Eisav. Destiny had it that Jacob was supposed to receive the blessings from Isaac, his father, and ultimately the blessing came about in a circuitous way. Why did it have to […]
One of the most striking features about Judaism in comparison with, say, Christianity or Islam, is that it is impossible to answer the following question: Who is the central character of the drama of faith? In both of the other Abrahamic monotheisms the answer is obvious. In Judaism, it is anything but. Is it Abraham, […]
Rav Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883), founder of the Mussar (personal growth through rigorous self-introspection) movement, was once invited to the home of a distinguished community leader for a meal. The host noticed that when his guest did the ritual hand washing before eating bread, the esteemed Rabbi only washed his fingers, but not his entire hand. […]
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) The Torah is not a history book; it records significant details with the purpose of giving […]
What does it take to survive? Although Dianna Ross famously wrote, “Oh no not I, I will survive/For as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive,” love is not a miracle elixir that can cure terminal illness or prevent national tragedy. A few thousand years ago, G-d saw that humanity […]
A Mussar Shmooze is a talk given with the intent of reaching the heart and rousing emotion. It became an effective tool in the Mussar movement, an undertaking that educated students in a program of self-knowledge, self-growth and learning how to fulfill one’s potential. Although the Mussar movement began in the 19th century, the first […]
Reams have been written about the first verse in this week’s Torah portion: These are the offspring of Noah; Noah as a righteous man, perfect in his generation… Question One: The verse begins with “these are the offspring of Noah,” but never tells us who these offspring were. Rather, it merely tells us that Noah […]
All the plants of the field were not yet upon the earth and all the herbal vegetation of the field had not yet sprouted, for God had not brought rain upon the soil. (Genesis.Breishis 2:5) The verse quoted above (All the plants of the field were not yet upon the earth…) refers to the world […]
Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. And Noah, with his sons… went into the Ark because of the waters of the Flood. (ibid. 6:9; 7:7)
Although most people aren’t Bible experts in the Bible, unless you grew up secluded from the world, you surely know the story of Adam and Eve and the snake. The commentators are divided in understanding the snake. Do we understand it as a literal creature, a reptile similar to today’s snakes, or do we understand […]
In this week’s Parsha we are introduced to the first patriarch of the Jewish people, Abraham. God tells him to leave his father’s house, his relatives and his homeland. So Abram went as God had spoken to him and Lot went with him; Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram took his […]
After the flood God makes a covenant with Noah and his family. Although God will eventually make a covenant with the Jewish people at Sinai, He enumerates seven laws not only for Noah and family but also for all non Jews. They are the basis of morality and the foundation of a principled society. One […]