Vayigash:The only mistaken thing Jacob ever said
What was the reason for Jacob's fear about going to Egypt?
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Parshat Shavua
News and updates about Parshat Shavua
"I am Joseph - is my father still alive?"
22 years are encapsulated in those first few words.
Eretz Yisrael in the Parasha: Settling in Goshen
Young Israeli Torah Scholars: Originally, the Israelites descended to Egypt temporarily and not to settle in the land. What happened?
The dangerous power of lies
The brothers lied to Jacob about Joseph's death, and later, even when they spoke the truth to him, he did not believe them.
Thank G-d for the Ghetto: Rav Samson Refael Hirsch on the parsha
Living in Goshen was a wise decision on the part of the Jews and a message for future exiles.
Everything that happened to Joseph happened to Zion
Religious Zionist Torah scholars discover Eretz Yisrael in the weekly Torah reading.
The Parsha and Current Events: Mondial, Hanukkah & Us
Jews wake up! Get serious! Make your lives meaningful!
Attracted to problems: Parashat Miketz
Sometimes it’s hard to understand what activities and traits distinguish a leader from a follower.
I have a dream?
Joseph interprets dreams in this week's parasha, but he also had his own dreams, and so did the Maccabees. How do we deal with our own?
Miketz: A narrative of Providence in human affairs
Joseph is seen as the main antagonist to Eisav, for Eisav always attributed events to random chance and to human action and power.
Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch on Miketz: What was Yosef thinking?
Do righteous men play cruel games on other people? How could Yosef terrify his brothers?
Vayeshev: The conflict between Joseph and Judah
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: "Is there a connection between the story of Joseph and the holiday that falls out this time of year, Hanukkah?"
The Parsha and Current Events: Be on the winning side!
It is not easy to be a Jacob in a world of Esaus but it is the Jacobs who will survive and guarantee the eternal existence of Am Yisrael.
Vayeshev: Error after error
There is no wisdom nor counsel, not in Yaakov, nor in Yosef Hatzadik, nor in his brothers, in this parasha. What is really happening?
Should we psychoanalyze Joseph and his brothers?
Even those who are observant and scholarly sometimes insert currently faddish values and interpretations into the Torah's eternal words.
A robe too far
Why was it this luxurious robe, rather than anything else, that so aroused Joseph's brothers’ ire?
Wait For It: Parshat Vayeshev
The midrash says hold fast to your conviction and strategy until it’s the right time.
Eretz Yisrael in the Parasha: Vayeshev
Religious Zionist Torah scholars connect the week's reading with the Holy Land: Why was it important for the Patriarchs to settle the land?
To be ‘shomer mitzvot’ does not mean to keep mitzvot!
To be ‘oseh mitzvot’ of course means to fulfil the mitzvot, but from here we learn a very relevant and important lesson for us today.
Vayishlach: Jacob's journey to holistic living
Israel's first Chief Rabbi explains the verse that says that Yaakov 'arrived whole to the city of Shechem', returning jto his homeland.
Vayishlach: Brothers in arms
Were Shimon and Levi really outraged idealists? Or were they just hotheaded vigilantes?
Vayishlach: Ask an American Rabbi
Jacob could have saved himself a lot of trouble had he stayed put in Laban's house.
Help us to learn from our enemies
Learn from them but not from their evil deeds, as Jacob testified about himself. But what could he learn from the wicked Laban?.
What is the best way to describe God?
Whose G-d is He? How can we know?
Vayishlach: G-d Is In our corner
Sometimes it feels as if Murphy’s Law is G-d’s Law. But that's not so.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Does Esau still hate Jacob?
When Esav meets Yaakov, a part of him acknowledges the superiority of Yaakov’s path in life. But does he continue to hate his brother?
Whence comes strength
We all have hidden powers, as Jacob discovered when he found the strength to lift the rock from the well for Rachel.
Behold it was Leah!
As Jacob's first marriage was based on ‘mistaken belief’, should it not have been deemed invalid?
The parasha and Eretz Yisrael: Why two kinds of angels?
Religious Zionist Torah scholars on the connection between this week's Torah reading and the Land of Israel.
Talking Parsha - Vayetze: Yaakov is running away again?!
Yaakov has to escape again - from Lavan’s home back to the Land of Israel. Why is it so important for him to escape & not leave peacefully?
Parshat Vayetze: Leadership dreaming
We can only truly understand Jacob's dream if we travel with him after the dream. And hold on to our own dreams.
Understanding Yaakov through colors
Let's refer to Esau as red, and to Lavan as (how predictable...) white.
Vayetse: You can only win the lottery if you buy a ticket
“Open for me just the space of the eye of a needle and I will expand that to be the space of an entire hall.”
Who was the batlan (idler), Jacob or Esau?
A surprising Rashi on the two sons of Rivka and Isaac leads us to wonder if it is the hunter or the tent-dweller who is of no consequence?
Talking Parsha - Toldot:
What's Yitzchak doing there?!
What's this whole story about - what is Yitzchak doing in Grar??
Toldot: Who am I, Jacob or Esau?
The struggle of mankind.
Eretz Yisrael in ParashatToldot: The Shechinah's wandering
Does the Shechinah leave Eretz Yisrael? If so, why?
Toldot: The lies of leadership
This week’s Torah reading, Toldot, paints dishonesty with words rather than images
Toldot: Redigging the wells
Though Abraham’s wells lasted the duration of his lifetime, the Philistines filled them with sand when he died. Isaac redug them. A lesson.
The Parsha and Current Events: Inertia
How does a dry cell battery explain what this week's parasha is really telling us?
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...
In the parasha: To each a perfect match.
Chayei Sarah: How can anyone have two lives on earth?
Words repeated, but not redundant. How is that if the Torah gives importance to every word?
Chayei Sara: Standing at the burial place of our forefathers
Why is Hevron considered one of the four holy cities in Eretz Yisrael?
Talking Parsha - Chayei Sarah:
You can't find one righteous girl in Canaan?!
Why does Avraham care so much about finding Yitzchak a wife from where he was born? It's not like the people there were better!
Chayei Sarah: All her years were equally good
This is the only instance in the whole of Tanach, that the number of years of the life of a woman, is written.
Vayeira: The Salt of Sodom
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: A certain spiritual peril lurks in any meal that we eat.
The Parsha and Current Events:Israel’s recent elections
Three of the four parties that comprise our new government are halakha observers. The message is that we will begin asserting our rightfs.
Covenant and Torah in the 'blessing of the land'
Young religious Zionist Torah scholars talk about the connection between Eretz Yisrael and the parsha.
Talking Parsha - Lech Lecha: Who told Avraham to go to Israel??
At the end of last week's parsha, we see that Avraham was already on his way to Israel. So why is Hashem telling him to go there?
Lech Lecha: The children of Abraham have returned home
Abraham’s descendants, the Jewish people, have shared his test and challenge with him over our long history.
Lech Lecha: The emunah of our Forefather
Reading this week's parsha can show us the amazing development in Abraham's life regarding a crucial existential question.
Thou shalt not steal - from God
Is stealing from one another really the reason for The Flood?
The Parsha and Current Events: Dramatic changes in life
Judaism is the heavy stretcher of history, and the Torah observant are those supporting it for just one more kilometer and generation.
Lessons in the parasha related to Eretz Yisrael: Breishith
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars research what this week's Torah reading says about the Promised Land.
Was it really an apple?
The Bible doesn't menion what the fruit was, so where did the idea of an apple come from?
The Titans: The men of renown in Genesis
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: They were called nefilim, great orators whose words were empty and actions as leaders unscrupulous. A lesson.
Talking Parsha - Bereshit: The creation of Chava (Eve) - why??
Why does the Torah tell us the story of Chava's creation, and why does the story end with a verse that's totally out of place?
The Parsha and Current Events: The message of the Sixth Day
Is man, knowing morality, always above beasts? Take Australia, known as “down under”- a most appropriate name after this week.
Creation: The goal comes first
The story of Creation brings us closer to Hashem
Outside the Garden of Eden
What life was like within the Garden of Eden is pretty much an unknown to us.