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 […]
Understanding the Hebrew months: KISLEV
The commandment to proclaim the New Moon was the first commandment given to the entire Jewish nation. In Exodus 12, God says: This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months – it shall be the first of the months of the year for you” When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, they were […]
The sigh
The town shoemaker would often be in a quandry about when to pray in the morning. Many of his customers were poor men who only owned one pair of shoes. He would work on repairing them all through the night in order to deliver them before their owners had to go to work in the […]
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 […]
A test of character
“Let it be that the girl…will say: Drink, and I will also water your camels, will be the one who You have determined for your servant Isaac…” (Genesis 24:14). Abraham’s home was built on kindness and caring for others, so his servant sought this quality when seeking to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. […]
How close?
Hashem appears far beyond our grasp, beyond this world and beyond all galaxies, in the highest heavenly realm lies His throne of Glory. How far away God seems from us. But in truth, there is none as close as He. How close? Close enough to hear us whisper! (Jerusalem Talmud, Brachot 9)
The calculus of giving
The merit of Tzedaka is so great that I am happy to give to 100 beggars even if only one might actually be needy. Some people, however, act as if they are exempt from giving charity to 100 beggars if one of them might be a fraud.(The Sanzer Rebbe)
The silent scream
“God heard the voice of the lad…” (Genesis 21:17). After Sarah complained about Yishmael harassing their son Isaac, Abraham reluctantly sent Yishmael and his mother Hagar away. Lost in the desert and with their water used up, Hagar cast her son under one of the bushes and wept in a loud voice as she waited […]
Torah adds up!
“For I have known him so that he may command his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem to do righteousness and justice…” (Genesis 18:19) In the phrase here “אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצַוֶּ֜ה אֶת־בָּנָ֤יו” (that he may command his children”) – the last letter of each word forms the word TORAH […]