The story of our father Yaakov, as portrayed in this week's parsha, is certainly the harbinger of all of the Jewish story in the long centuries of our exile and dispersion. Yaakov arrives penniless and persecuted - a survivor from the ravages of the enmity and sword of Eisav. He is subjected to further humiliation and discrimination in the house of his erstwhile father-in-law and employer...
The Torah reading tells us of the birth of twin sons to Yitzchak and Rivka. The elder son, Eisav, comes forth fully formed, ruddy and strong. The younger twin is named Yaakov. The Torah tells us that he is holding on to Eisav’s heel. In effect he is holding Eisav back from accomplishing his desires. The Hebrew word for heel – aikev – is embedded into the name of Yaakov. It is as...
The Torah emphasizes to us the importance of the continuity of generations in this week’s parsha. The name alone by which the parsha is called – “toldot” – generations, testifies to the stress that the Torah places on this vision in Jewish life. My wise old Talmud teacher said to his class: “Boys, if your grandparents and your grandchildren are both proud of you and your...
אחת התחזיות המדהימות שמופיעות בתורה בעניין העם היהודי היא זו שאומרת שמבחינה מספרית נהיה תמיד עם קטן. אין ספק שזה היה נכון בהיסטוריה הארוכה שלנו עד כה. בימי חורבן בית המקדש השני, מספר הסינים היה פי שניים ממספרנו. כמעט...
One of the more amazing predictions regarding the Jewish people that appears in the Torah is that numerically speaking we will always be a small nation. That certainly has been the case over our long history. At the time of the destruction of the Second Temple the Chinese were twice our numbers. Almost two millennia later the Chinese are approximately one hundred times our numbers. In...
רבקה כשרה מוות של הורה, בכל שלב בחיים ובכל גיל, הוא חוויה טרגית וטראומטית, אך דומני שהאבל אצל בן או בת הזוג שנשארים בחיים עמוק אפילו יותר מאשר אצל הילדים. הילדים מוצאים את הדרך להמשיך בחייהם. בתת-המודע שלהם הם לקחו...
The death of a parent at any stage of life and at any age is a tragic and traumatic experience. I find that the grief is more profound for the surviving spouse than even for the surviving children. Children somehow find a way to move on with their lives. They factored in the inevitability of the death of a parent into their subconscious and thus usually were and are able to deal with their...
The lives of Abraham and Sarah, complete with problems, setbacks and yet great achievements, stands as a stark example for Jewish life and general human life as well. Miracles intervene for them but they never quite bring final and lasting security or solutions to the problems of life. The miraculous birth of Yitzchak to Sarah is almost eclipsed by his nearly being sacrificed on the...
It will come as a surprise to no one that the Torah, and Judaism generally, apparently values human life above all else. Rare are the cases to be found in the Jewish story and in halacha where human life is not the primary value that trumps all other behavior and ideals. The story of the akeida – of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Almighty and at the last moment being...
חכמי ישראל בכל הדורות, מהתלמוד והלאה, תמיד האמינו שהסיפורים על האבות, אברהם, יצחק ויעקב, ועל האמהות, שרה, רבקה, רחל ולאה, אינם רק היסטוריה אלא גם אבני דרך וסימנים לעתידו של העם היהודי. למעשה, אנחנו ספוגים ב-DNA...
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