The Torah describes Yaakov’s positioning of his family in preparation for the meeting with Eisav: “He put the handmaids and their children first, and Leah and her children later, and...
Parshas Vayishlach opens with Yaakov Avinu and his family leaving the house of Lavan, ready to embark on a return journey home. “Yaakov was greatly afraid and distressed.” (Genesis, Bereishis 32:8) Yaakov...
A TALE OF TWO ANGELS BROTHER’S KEEPER One day the zookeeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books, the Bible and Darwin’s Origin of Species. Surprised, he asked the ape, “Why are...
Parashat Vayishlah opens with Yaakov Avinu facing a vexing and frightening problem. His brother, Esav, who despised him for stealing the berachah which their father intended to give Esav, was...
The gemara (Shabbos 21b) tells us that the proper place to put the Chanukah lights is in front of one’s home, so that all the passers-by will notice the lights,...
We read in Parashat Vayishlah of the angel that attacked Yaakob Abinu as he made his way back to Eretz Yisrael from the home of Laban. The Rabbis teach us...
A fter years of research, the Rebbe of Radzin zy”a believed he found the blue techeiles dye, which could be used for tzitzis. To verify his claim, the Rebbe of...
Rabbi Avigdor Miller, Zt”l, Zy”a, makes a fascinating observation. When the Torah records historical events, it invariably starts the narrative with the letter ‘vav.’ Thus, we find in this week’s...
Prior to 1974, the standard practice for dealing with someone who was choking was to whack the afflicted person on the back. Dr. Henry Heimlich argued hitting them that way...
I. What A Rabbi Does Most of us have been to enough Jewish weddings that we know how they work. We can easily officiate. Even without a big crowd, all a man has to do is give a woman a...