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 you reading both those books?” “Well,” said the orangutan, “I just wanted to...
Last week, my doorbell rang but when I answered it, there was nobody there. Instead, I found a vase of flowers outside the front door with a note. Flowers on a random weekday? There wasn’t a birthday or...
This week’s parsha relates the encounter of Yakov with his dangerous and murderous brother Eisav, and Yakov’s admitting that he was fearful of Eisav. These events connect directly to our contemporary multiplicity of antisemitic incidents and horrors all over...
Parashat Vayetzeh begins with Yaakov Avinu fleeing from his home, as his brother, Esav, was trying to kill him. The Torah tells us: Vayifgah Bamakom Vayalen Sham Ki Va Hashemesh – “He came upon a place, and...
In Yaakov’s famous dream of a ladder at the beginning of Parshas Vayeitzei, Hashem appears to him and tells him – among other things – “Your offspring shall be as the dust of the earth and you shall...
Students of the Torah are well aware that there is nothing superfluous in the language of the Torah. Every phrase comes to teach us a myriad of lessons. Therefore, when the Torah says, “Vayeitzei Yaakov miB’er Sheva v’yeilech Charanah...
going through a hard time, he should be happy with the yesurim and believe it is all for the good. However, when one hears about other people’s problems, it is wrong to think, “It’s for...
Can one bake an open pan of chicken/ meat in a hot oven immediately after fish was baked in an open pan? What about the opposite, fish after meat, if both are open? A: The gemara teaches us that...
We read in Parashat Vayeseh that when Yaakob arrived in Haran, at the home of his uncle, Laban, he reached an agreement with Laban. According to the agreement, Yaakob would work for seven years as a shepherd,...
