The Appropriate Blessing
This week we read that Yitzchak (Isaac) wanted to bless his older son Esav, but Yaakov came instead, as advised by his mother Rivka. As a result, both sons were blessed -- and though Yitzchak was deceived, he was Divinely Inspired to give each child the right...
Big Talkers and Big Doers
At the beginning of this week's reading, Sarah passes away and Avraham goes to find a burial place for her. He would like to bury her in the burial place of Adam and Chava (Eve), which is the Cave of Machpela near Hebron. So he goes to the Hittites to ask for that...
The Source of Moral Virtue
It is as predictable as sunrise. At roughly this time of the year, someone claims the mantle of religious authority in order to announce that Avraham "failed" the test of the Akeidah, of sacrificing his son. Why? Because, the speaker insists, Avraham should have told...
Out of the Comfort Zone
Do you like your house? “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” It is human nature to find comfort in familiar surroundings, friends and neighbors, even habits.
A Call for Unity
In this week's Torah reading, humanity engages in two different sorts of evil. One generation becomes rife with theft and immorality, and the population is wiped out. Then a later generation unites to rebel against G-d, and G-d confuses their languages and divides...
Come Rest with Us!
This week, we begin a new cycle of reading the Torah. The Torah begins, of course, by describing G-d's Creation of Heaven and Earth. And at the end, He rested. G-d, of course, did not need to rest. The Almighty, Creator of time itself, has no need for time off -- and...
