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 […]
Today is the final day of Sukkot, which will conclude with Simchat Torah and the reading of the final Parsha of the Torah. In it, Moses died alone on a mountain with G-d, just as he had been alone with G-d years earlier when he caught sight of a bush in flames and heard the […]
In Jewish consciousness, there’s an idea that the three festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—correspond to the three Patriarchs. Tonight is Sukkot, the holiday corresponding to Yaakov (Jacob).The Mitzvah of Sukkah is an unlike almost all others in that we do it with our entire body. We eat matzah with our mouths, light Shabbos candles with our […]
