Preparation… for More than a Lifetime
At first glance, one could attempt to compare the encounter between Yaakov and Rachel to a scene from a novel. The Torah previously described in detail how Avraham's servant Eliezer journeyed to find a wife for Yitzchok, and brought her to him, sight unseen, to be his...
First, Choose a Direction
This week's reading begins with Rivka's pregnancy, which came about only after many years and many prayers. And then we read a verse which, according to Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki himself, begs further explanation: "And the children struggled within her, and she said 'if...
Losing Perspective
What on earth — or perhaps, off earth — did Nimrod and his followers think they could accomplish? How could building a tower enable them to “make war against G-d?” [Rashi to 11:1]
Not only is the idea nonsensical, but they contradicted themselves: “They said: ‘Come, let us build a city and tower, its head in the Heavens, and make a name for ourselves, that we not be scattered across the earth.'” [11:4]
Daunting or Doable?
It is not in Heaven, such that one could say ‘who will go up to Heaven and take it for us’… For this matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it” [30:12, 14]. At first glance Torah observance can seem daunting, filled with myriad rules and regulations governing every aspect of life.
We Don’t Know the Story
In this week's reading, we are told "you shall be 'simple' with Hashem your G-d" [Deut. 18:13]. As you might suspect, "simple" is a very incomplete translation of "Tamim," which also means pure and unsullied. Our forefather Yaakov is called "a simple man, dwelling in...
An Active Response to Tragedy
The Ninth of Av, which this year begins on Monday evening, is a national day of mourning for the Jewish people. 3329 years ago, we mourned needlessly on this day, responding to the report of the spies that we would be unable to overcome the Canaanites and move into...
