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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]