by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 19, 2023 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, Moshe calls upon Pharoah to release the Jewish nation to worship in the desert, but “G-d said to Moshe, the heart of Pharoah is heavy, to release the people.” [Ex. 7:14] The Medrash explains Pharoah’s behavior with a...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Dec 2, 2022 | Lifeline
This week’s reading provides what seems, in an initial, superficial view, to be a romantic account. When Yaakov (Jacob) sees Rachel, he gains superhuman strength, single-handedly rolling away the cover of a well, a stone that ordinarily took a team of shepherds...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 3, 2022 | Lifeline
In Psalm 130, there is a statement that requires explanation. “If G-d should preserve wrongdoing, HaShem, who will stand? Because forgiveness is with You, in order that You be revered.” [130:3-4] The first of these verses seems straightforward: since we...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 23, 2022 | Lifeline
Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, is also, per the majority opinion in the Talmud, the sixth and final day of Creation. It is on this day that Adam and Eve, the first couple, were brought into the world. And as we know, Adam was initially Created as a single...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 5, 2022 | Lifeline
In this week’s Parsha, the first in the Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, Moshe recounts before Israel the episode of the spies, in which one representative of each of the twelve tribes entered into Israel to spy it out, and they returned with an evil report (see...
