Passionate for what?
“…and (Jacob) said to Lavan, “What is my transgression, and what is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me?” (Genesis 31:36) (Setting the scene: Jacob had endured too many years of his overbearing father-in-law Lavan, so he packed up his family and everything he had and left. His wife Rachel grabbed her father’s […]
Who do we pray for?
“He (Jacob) encountered the place and spent the night there… (Genesis 28:11). Rashi comments that the word for “encounter” (va’yifga) means prayer. (This seems to be the meaning of the word in Jeremiah 7:16.) However, a few verses later, we are told explicitly that Jacob prayed that God should be with him, guard him on […]
Unconditional love
“Isaac loved Esav because he ate his game; but Rebecca loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) The actual Hebrew of this verse reads that Rebecca “loves” Jacob, in the present tense. According to Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz, we can understand this verse according to a teaching of our sages in Chapters of the Fathers (5:16). “Any love […]
Becoming desensitized
“And they (the two Hittite women that Esav married) were a source of bitterness to Isaac and to Rebecca.” (Genesis 26:35) The Midrash notes that the source of aggravation was because these women were idol worshipers. The Midrash also picks up on an interesting detail in the verse. It doesn’t say they were a source […]