I have always wondered why the Mishnah in Avot singled out our father Avraham as being the person who was tested ten times in his lifetime rather than concentrating on the life of our father Yaakov who, as related in this week’s Torah reading, underwent so many tests and misfortunes. Yaakov finally escapes the clutches of Lavan only to be confronted by the threat of Eisav attempting to... READ MORE →
Rashi comments regarding the opening word of this week’s Torah reading that when a righteous person departs from a community, the loss is noticeable and is damaging to that community. In most instances, the community or even the righteous person’s own family and friends, pay little attention to his or her presence while the person is amongst them. It is only when that person is no longer... READ MORE →
This week's Torah reading continually raises for us the unbelievable fact that two such divergent personalities and worldviews could have been raised in the house of Yitzhak and Rivkah. We can understand how a person such as Yaakov could have come from their home. After all, he is studious, serious and obedient to the wishes of his parents, especially to those of his mother. He is not an... READ MORE →
In the interests if transparency and honesty, let me state at the outset here that this brilliant essay is completely self-serving and personally motivated. But nevertheless it does, in my opinion, contain ideas and insights that may prove worthwhile to my long-suffering loyal readers. The name of my newly published book is “Who Knows Twelve – Insights and Values From the Book of Trei-Asar... READ MORE →
The entire cycle of human life is portrayed for us in this week’s Torah reading. The first part of the parsha deals with the inevitable reality of human mortality. The Torah teaches us the concept of Jewish burial – its simplicity and honesty, and the restorative treatment of grief. Avraham mourns the loss of his life’s companion and support. The Torah does not tell us what he said in... READ MORE →
At first glance it may appear that the commitment between God and Avraham described in the opening words of this week's Torah reading is in the nature of a singular and one-off event. There are various interpretations amongst scholars of Israel and the commentators to the Torah as to the level of prophecy that our father Avraham attained. The appearance of angels in the form of human wanderers... READ MORE →
The patternf or the life of our father Abraham and our mother Sarah is set in the opening word's of this week's Torah reading. They, the progenitors of the Jewish people and the parents of all nations are destined to be travelers for all of their lives. The truth is that all of us are travelers on the journey of our lives. The difference is whether we have a clear idea of our destination and... READ MORE →
The events described in this week's parsha only serve to confirm the diagnosis of human behavior already recorded for us in last week’s parsha – that the nature of human beings, if left alone, will invariably turn to evil behavior. Not only that but the recounting of the behavior of the family of Noach, even after experiencing the flood and the destruction of much of humankind, instructs us... READ MORE →
The Torah at its onset here in the parsha of Bereshith describes itself as being “the book of the generations of humankind.” Although the literal context of this verse of the Torah is referring to the generations and descendants of the first human being Adam, it has been widely interpreted by Jewish traditional scholars, in its broadest meaning, to refer to all of the generations and the... READ MORE →
In reality, the first word of this week's prophetic song/parsha in encompasses the entire message of this Torah portion. Haazinu connotes paying attention, concentrating, listening attentively and absorbing words and messages that are being spoken. As one's hearing acumen begins to lessen and wane with the passage of time, background noise becomes a problem when attempting to hear what someone... READ MORE →
