A Boulder Future
Yaakov (Jacob) leaves home, journeying towards Haran, where he knows his uncle lives, hoping both to find safety from his brother, and to marry a daughter from his uncle's family. At the end of his first day travelling, the verse says that "he came to the place, and...
Truly in Tents
The contrast between Yaakov and Esav (Jacob and Esau) in this week's Torah portion is stark. "The children matured, and Esav knew how to hunt, he was a man of the field, and Yaakov was whole, one who sits in tents (Gen. 25:27)." These descriptions show a clear...
Keep the Silver!
Upon hearing of his wife Sarah's death, Abraham returned to his home in Hebron to eulogize his wife, mourn her passing, and arrange for her burial. The plot of his choice was the same cave where Adam and Eve were known to be buried, but to bury Sarah in this cave, he...
Kind to the Cruel?
The city of Sodom and the surrounding region were notorious for their cruel practices and laws. But before G-d brought destruction upon them, He first informed Abraham. "It's improper to do this without him knowing," He said, "I gave him this land, these cities are...
Sweet Simple Symphony
Saved from the Great Flood (the Mabul), Noah was moved to give thanks to G-d for sparing him and his family. Immediately upon leaving the Ark, he built an altar and brought offerings upon it. G-d was pleased with this, as it says, "And G-d smelled the pleasant smell...
Make Amends, Let’s Be Friends
Rabbi Zeira, the Talmud writes, had the following custom: when he was owed an apology by someone, he would go out to where they were, proceed past them, and then return (Yoma 87a). By walking past them, back and forth, he hoped to jog their memory of the incident, and...
Gone AWOL
Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, which is in just a few days, is the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance that began with Rosh Hashanah. A significant portion of the lengthy prayers of Yom Kippur is devoted to Viduy — confession of misdeeds, which includes a...
The Long Distance Call
The verse says in Psalms [89:16], "Happy is the nation that knows the Teruah, the sound of the Shofar." Rav Tzvi E. Hertzberg zt"l asks, "why is it such a great thing to know the sound of a Shofar — and how does blowing a Shofar make G-d less angry and upset over all...
It’s All in Our Hands
An elderly man checked in to a small, quaint hotel, only to learn at the front desk that the single elevator was out of order. He asked a bellhop to bring his bags up to his room, implying that the tip would be worth the effort. It was ten minutes later before the...
COVID Blessings
When a farmer is hit by a drought, or a destructive flood, this causes collateral damage to the market that buys his produce, and that sells him supplies. A disruption in one area of the supply chain disrupts all the other links in the chain... or so we think. The...
Assisted Giving
If your neighbor's car won't start, there's a special Mitzvah (commandment) to give him (or her) a boost, call a mechanic, or do whatever it takes to get the car working again. "Do not ignore your brother if you see that his ox or donkey's load has fallen. Pick up the...
Our Little Secret
"Be pure with G-d (Lev. 18:13)" — this is a beautiful expression, as well as a verse in this week's Torah portion. While it describes a lofty spiritual ideal, what does it mean in a practical sense? We've all met kind people. It's probably true that the majority of...
