VAYIGGASH: Tora, Assimilation, and Chess
In this week’s Parsha, Vayiggash, Yosef finally reveals his identity to his brothers. “I am Yosef,” he tells them. The brothers are in shock....
How do we celebrate Hanukka?
BASIC LAWS AND TRADITIONS OF HANUKKA
This year, on Wednesday night, December 25th, corresponding to the 25th of Kislev, 5785, we will light the...
VAYISHLACH: What is the meaning of the name Israel?
In Parashat VAYISHLACH we read that Ya'akob fought with an angel and the angel blessed him, and changed his name from Ya'akob to Israel....
What does the word Hanukka mean?
The word Hanukka means “dedication,” and it is used in this sense in Hebrew in phrases like Hanukat-haBayit (dedication of one’s new home).
So, what...
VAYETSE: Anticipating Assimilation
This week's Perasha begins with the exile of Ya'aqob Abinu, our third patriarch. Ya'aqob flees the land of Israel when his brother Esav declares...
VAYETSE: Why We Dream What We Dream
Our Parasha covers twenty years of the life of Ya’aqob Abinu. These years elapsed between two dreams. The first dream took place when Ya'aqob...
Jews and Candles
We are celebrating the holiday of Hanukka. And whenever this festival approaches, I reflect on one important question: what does it mean to be...
Sephardic vs. Ashkenazi traditions in Hanukka
HANUKKA: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEPHARDIM AND ASHKENAZIM
There are no significant differences between the traditions of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews regarding Hanukka. There are only some...
TOLEDOT: The difference between GPS and a Google car
Last week we saw how Abraham Abinu sent his servant to find a good wife for his son Isaac (Itshaq). The rabbis always insisted...
From Meah Shearim to the IDF
THE WAR CONTINUES
I began writing these lines in Yerushalayim. In Israel's capital, the war is not immediately evident, except in the reduced number of...
VAYERA: Lot and the frog syndrome
Lot and Abraham lived in the same area. But when the shepherds of Abraham and Lot quarreled, Abraham suggested to Lot that each one...
VAYERA: Sodom and Gomorrah and the Bible as History
THE DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY
As a teenager, I remember reading an exciting book called “The Bible as History” (I read it in Spanish “Y...
VAYERA: Abraham and a different kind of opportunism
DICTIONARY:
Opportunism is the art, policy, or practice of taking advantage of opportunities or circumstances, often with little regard for principles ….
Synonym for opportunism: exploitation
KINDNESS...
VAYERA: A Lesson in Parenting From The First Jewish Mother
DID SARA OVERREACT?
Abraham and Sara had no children. HaShem promised them that their descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Sarah proposes to Abraham...
SUMMARY PARASHAT VAYERA
God revealed himself to Abraham in a vision while sitting at his tent's entrance. Abraham notices that three travelers pass near him, and as...
Summary of Parashat Noach
Noah was a righteous and upright man who “walked with God.” While humanity was sinking into anarchy, corruption, and violence, Noah remained faithful to...
Noah and the Seven Commandments
THE GENERATION OF THE FLOOD
When God created humanity, He endowed them with a neshamá—the soul, intelligence, the capacity to think, and the freedom to...
Noach, and the Discovery of Mortality
PREDILUVIAN THOUGHTS
What caused the universal flood? A meteorite? A climate change event? The Tora is not an ordinary book: it is a Divine book....
BERESHIT: Dinosaurs in the Bible
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
This year, Parashat Bereshit, Genesis, which contains the account of the creation of the world, left us with only one day...
FIRST TRIAL. Recognizing God’s Voice
THE CONTEXT OF ISAAC’S SACRIFICE
Our rabbis mentioned that when we listen to the Shofar we should remember the sacrifice of Isaac, that is, the last...
