The Jewish slaves, entrenched and tortured in Egypt for hundreds of years, finally reached a point where they were moved to prayer. "The Children of Israel moaned from the labor, and they cried, and their desperate plea ascended to G-d from the labor." (Ex. 2:23). The...

When Yaakov blesses Yehudah, he says that Yehudah will be "red-eyed from wine, and white-toothed from milk." [49:12] In the Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan offers a homiletic interpretation of this verse. [Kesubos 111b]. He says that one who smiles graciously at his friend is...

Due to the widespread famine in Canaan, Jacob and his family descended to Egypt to live under Joseph's care. Before the journey, G-d appeared to Jacob and said "Don't fear going down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you and I...

In this week's reading, the time for Yosef's redemption finally arrives. Pharoah has dreams, his sommelier (wine butler) suddenly remembers Yosef, and Yosef is hastily pulled from jail, given a haircut, and sent to interpret the dreams of Pharoah. Two weeks ago, I...

"A bit of light pushes away a great deal of darkness." Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt by his own brothers, marking the beginning of the darkest chapter of his life. As we noted last year, the caravan which brought Joseph to Egypt normally carried odorous...

I remember, more years ago than I care to disclose, traveling to Israel for a summer program of study in a yeshiva (rabbinical school) for the first time. I planned the trip carefully; given that the university I was attending ended its year later than most, there...