People are complicated and may fail to perform a mitzvah for many reasons, including those entirely beyond their control. Consider someone who bought a mezuzah from a reputable and pious seller, only to learn years later that a word...
What is the defining difference between us Jews and the surrounding society? There are several, but if I had to choose one, I would say: the tattoo. The most significant and fundamental difference between us and them is...
Worse Than Color Blind: Seeing The Color, But Not the Soup This week’s parsha, contains the famous story of the selling of the birthright. Yaakov cooks a pot of lentil soup. Eisav comes in, tired from the field, and says...
When Leah had her third child, she explained, “Hapa’am yilave ishi eilai – This time my husband will walk alongside of me.” And the Torah concludes, “Al kein, kara sh’mo Levi – Therefore, she called her son Levi...
After World War Two, the Germans offered to give money to Jewish people, called reparations, to atone for what they did and to express their regret. There was a hot machlokes among gedolei Yisrael about whether Yidden should accept the money. Some gedolim said, “Take...
And Yaakov said, sell to me as of today, your birthright. Bereishis 25:31 Sources that a Person Can Sell Mitzvos and their Reward The Gemara (Menachos 72b) teaches that if two kohanim receive portions of a korban containing equivalent amounts...
What we notice about others can be “soup-er” revealing about ourselves! A common misconception is that Eisav was known as “Edom” (red) due to the ruddy skin tone with which he was born (Bereishis 25:25). However, the Torah...
Can I use my leftover challah to make dairy French toast? So, there’s really two questions about the challah. Let’s talk about how it was baked. If it was baked in a fleishig oven,...
TURKEY BREAST INGREDIENTS: Orange-Honey Glaze: • 3/4 cup honey • 1 teaspoon, orange zest • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon...
Parashat Toldot tells the story of the blessings that Yishak Abinu decided to give to Esav, but ended up conferring upon Yaakob, who, at his mother’s behest, disguised as Esav and came before Yishak to receive the blessing....