by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 29, 2024 | Lifeline
“And all the wells that the servants of his father had dug, during the days of Avraham, the Pelishtim had closed them up and filled them with dirt” [26:15]. Yitzchak wanted to use the wells his father’s servants had made, but the Pelishtim had gone...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 22, 2024 | Lifeline
Sometimes, the Torah strikes us as repetitive. We are forced to wonder why the Torah felt it necessary to tell us the same thing twice, and to look more deeply to determine what we learn from the retelling. Nowhere is this more striking than the story of Eliezer going...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 15, 2024 | Lifeline
The Torah tells us that after the birth of Yitzchak, “the child grew and was weaned, and Avraham made a great banquet on the day that Yitzchak was weaned” [Genesis 21:8]. Rashi explains that what made the banquet “great” was the presence of the great men of the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 8, 2024 | Lifeline
In our parsha (reading), Hashem tells our forefather, “do not fear, Avram, I will shield you, your reward is very great” [15:1]. And Avram replies in the following verse, “Hashem, what will you give me, and I go childless…” [This was before Avraham and Sarah were...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 10, 2024 | Lifeline
A few days ago, someone wished me a happy holiday. Given that the upcoming holiday is Yom Kippur, the somber, serious, even frightening Day of Atonement, my first, unshared thought was that that wasn’t really the appropriate greeting for the occasion. But I thought...
