Parshat Shavua

Keep G-d close!

Weekly Torah study: Vayishlach.

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:

Vayishlach: The service of pillars and altars

One rock or many stones?.What typifies the Jewish people? What makes them a klal?

VAYISHLACH 5782

Of angels and men

Yaakov makes his first step into the "boxing arena" He is injured because this is now reality.

Confronting challenges in empowerment

Yaakov could have chosen to leave this struggle behind and continue with his preparations for Esav.

VAYISHLACH 5782

Jacob's solitude

Jacob was neither the first nor the last of his people who would need to learn the power of solitude.

VAYISHLACH 5782

The Parsha and Current Events: Good emerging from evil

Soon, we will be witnessing a dramatic turnabout in the attitude of most gentile nations to the Jews and to Israel.

VAYISHLACH 5782

Facing our own Eisav

Yaakov apparently is done with running, and now turns to face his problems and his adversary, head-on, face-to-face.

VAYISHLACH 5782

Fear of spiritual harm

Why didn't Jacob try to avoid meeting his brother?

Suffering makes you stronger: an idea to handle with care

Chani Weinroth z"l knew about all-encompassing suffering firsthand, but managed to advise wisely those suffering and those around them..

Weekly Torah Study: Vayeitze

Love

There is nothing quite like the feeling of love. Mentioning Yaakov's love for Rachel is a rarity in the Tanach.

The angels of Eretz Yisrael

Without question, Yaacov was in great need of the angels who accompanied and protected him, but why not the same ones everywhere?

VAYETZE 5782

The master of dreams.

The Talmud teaches us that some dreams have the quality of being a minor type of prophecy.

Talking Parsha - Vayetze: Why is Yaakov chatting at the well?

This Torah tells us about Yaakov's conversation by the well. Why does the Torah describe this conversation in such great detail?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Vayetze: After Covid, will we go back to sleep?

Hashem was saying something to us. What will our response be? Will it be to turn over and ignore it, or will we respond appropriately?

The angels of Israel

To better understand the idea of angels, it is better to see them as “the message” rather than as “the messenger”.

VAYETZE:

To find our calling is the hallmark of life

Life isn’t a generic formula that can be applied to everyone equally.

VAYETZE:

One day at a time

Our own experiences suggest that time, rather than being a straight arrow, is an undulating chord.  Does that explain Yaakov's patience?

The lesson of the wells

Digging wells is a mirror image of uncovering G-d within our physical reality. Op-ed.

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:

Toldot: Harnessing the power of Esau

Jacob held on to Esau’s heel holding him back. The name Jacob refers to this aspect of restraint, reining in fierce forces of our nature.

TOLDOT 5782

Weekly Torah Study: How can two brothers be so different?

Are sibling rivalry, sibling strife, the Will of God?

TOLDOT 5782

Should this Torah reading have been called "Yitzchak"?

There is an inherent difference between the generations and genealogy of Noach and that of Yitzchak.

TOLDOT 5782

Deception

Yitzchak, in a sense, was no more blind at his old age then he was when he was younger.

TOLDOT 5782

Could Esau really have sold his birthright to Jacob?

Did Jacob take advantage of his brother's hunger to get hold of the birthright?

TOLDOT 5782

Preserving the Mesorah, a challenge for Olim and their offspring

Rivka emerges as the more perceptive parent in this parsha. There is more to this than it seems.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Chayei Sarah: In this world, we’re all just passing through

Talking Parsha - Chayei Sarah: Why did Eliezer even need a sign?

Abraham's servant Eliezer went to find a wife for Isaac. Why did Eliezer ask G-d for a sign? Why not ask where Abraham's family lives?

CHAYEI SARAH 5782

The Parsha and Current Events: Faith and courage

Where is the Avraham of today who will stand up before the world as he did to the Hittites and declare that this land is our heritage?

CHAYEI SARAH 5782

Sarah, mother of the Jewish people

This article is dedicated to Sarah, in praise of her virtues and in honor of her memory.

Why did Hashem reveal his intent to destroy Sodom to Abraham?

In our generations there seems no one known to us who fits the criteria of an Avraham, a Moshe, a Shmuel to whom God would reveal his plans.

VAYERA 5782

Too Perfect?

I know of at least one person who worried about being too perfect. Our collective grandfather, Abraham.

VAYERA 5782

'And Hashem remembered Avraham' - and saved Lot?

Lot chose to live in Sodom, the by-word for wickedness, and the antithesis of all that Avraham had taught him. So why save him?

Talking Parsha - Lech Lecha: Avraham can't find room for Lot?

What exactly happened in the story of Avraham and Lot? And how did someone who grew up in Avraham's home end up in Sdom?

The secret of Jewish survival

Ultimately, Jewish history is fashioned and determined by those individuals who are motivated by passion and directed by faithfulness.

Go, go, and keep going - you can be anything you want to be

G-d did not tell Abraham to "depart". He said "go". What message was G-d sending?

Abraham the innovator

Abraham is the first human being recorded as having a normal conversation with his Creator.

The Parsha and Current Events:

The insular nature of the Covenant

Today's nations want Israel to go alone, in the hope that Iran will destroy the annoying Jewish state. Abraham too had to fight alone.

The hidden conflict behind the Battle of the Kings

Why would a battle between ancient kingdoms get such prominence in the parasha? Was it all that it seems?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

How responsible was Noah for the flood?

In Isaiah, the flood is called "the waters of Noah." What does that imply?

The Parsha and Current Events: Thoughts on the world today

It is 5782 years from the time humans appeared and began destroying the beautiful world that Hashem created for them.

Talking Parsha - Bereshit: The real story of Adam and Chava

On the most basic level, we have to ask why, in the story of Adam and Eve, does the Torah repeat the word 'arumim?' What does it mean?

Paradise lost

Milton's epic poem describes the impossibility of returning to Paradise once lost. The Torah presents that return as a challenge..

No more, no less: A powerful story

The first letter of the Torah is bet, the last is lamed. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson spoke of the letters before and after bet and lamed.

Simchat Torah reading: Calling up the bridegrooms

There is a good reason to celebrate the end of the cycle of Torah readings, but why delay it until a month after the end of the year?

Talking Parsha - Sukkos: Why read THIS on Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed?

This Shabbat we read about the Sin of the Golden Calf and afterwards, the Second Tablets. What's the connection between that & the holiday?

Weekly Torah Study: Vezot Habracha

Moshe blesses the tribes of Israel before his death, beginning his words with fiery imagery. Why?

Moshe Rabbeinu - dead or alive

Did Moshe Rabbeinu transcend death? In this week's parasha, Vezot Habracha, his death is described, but the Talmud says something else.

The Torah - not just another app!

We cannot just lounge around feet up swiping our devices or listening to Torah as we travel to work

Talking Parsha - Ha'azinu: Why is Moshe's last speech a song?

This week's Torah portion is actually a song, a poem. But it's also unlike the song the People of Israel sang at the splitting of the Sea.

Ultimate witnesses

Nature itself, with all its wonders, unpredictability, and beauty is the greatest testimony regarding the covenant between God and Israel.

Talking Parsha - Nitzavim: Why is the easiest mitzvah so hard?

In one of his last speeches to the Jewish People, Moshe refers to 'this mitzvah.' Later he describes the opposite attitude. Why?

The Covenant with those who are not here with us today

In Nitzavim, the Covenant with Hashem is described as binding future generations. How could those present bind those who are not present?

A nation of storytellers

To know who we are is, in large part, to understand the story or stories of which we are a part.

Talking Parsha - Ki Teitze: Did you have to say that?

The Torah tells us not to be late fulfilling a vow & says a person who didn't vow, didn't sin. Why would we think of not vowing as a sin?

Ki Tetze: The beautiful captive woman

The Netziv asks:’’What is this beautiful woman, adorned and dressed in her finery, doing in battle?’"

When a marriage fails

A plea for peace and understanding. Divorce, with all its hurt, uncertainty and loss should not lead to lifelong enmity.

Ki Teitsei: The real reason we love to give food

Food: making it, sharing it, giving it. so deeply ingrained in Jewish culture. Why it's important to give, even where food isn't lacking!

Shoftim: How Jews went to war

The Torah exempts three categories of men from going out to a voluntary war. And it explains why.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Shoftim: We are separate but always together

We are individuals in our own right and at the same time we are part of our nation.

The weekly Torah portion as a medium for growth

The Rabbis intended that the structure of each portion be studied to teach a message unto itself.

Talking Parsha - Re'eh: What makes it THE place?

Moshe commands the nation to destroy idol worship upon entering the Land of Israel - but not do do the same to G-d. What does this mean?