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"The discussions of the servants of our patriarchs are more beloved than the Torah of their children” (Rashi, Breisheet, 24:22). This…
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"G-d said: I will obliterate humanity that I have created from the face of the earth; man, livestock, land animals and birds of the sky. I…
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“And you shall surely know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs for 400 years” (Breisheet 15:12). The…
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Yosef was a most charismatic figure. How else to explain the appeal he had to so many people? The Torah wastes little time in telling us that, both…
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Perhaps no Biblical story fascinates us like that of Yosef and his brothers. Its twists and turns are full of drama, intrigue, tragedy, violence,…
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The Torah tells us nothing about the upbringing of Abraham; we do not even know the name of his mother. All we know about him is that he was the…
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"And Lemech called him Noach saying, this one will bring us relief, yenachmeinu, from our work and the anguish of our hands, from the…
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The belief in one G-d is perhaps the most fundamental teaching of Judaism. Thousands have died rather than negate this central tenet of Judaism.…
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“On that day Jacob blessed them saying by you shall bless [the people of] Israel saying, 'may G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe (48:20).'”…
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Why was it that Abraham and Yitzchak had only one child who would remain within the Jewish people while Yaakov merited that all his children would be…
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One could hardly find fault with the claim that sibling rivalry is the major theme of Sefer Breisheet. Beginning with the first set of brothers, Cain…
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"And Abraham said to his servant of the household. I bind you by an oath that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the…
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“And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and…
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"Your servant, our father, said to us: You know that my wife bore to me two sons" (44:27). It is assumed by many that Yehuda made…
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It takes much thought and hard work to learn when to speak up and when to remain silent. Often, we find ourselves in trouble because of a loose…
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“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘Yitzchak our forefather was barren, as it is written ‘and Isaac entreated the Lord lenochach, alongside,…
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"And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah" (Breisheet 25:1). The Torah follows by listing the six children they had…
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The Divine choosing of Avraham marks the beginning of Jewish peoplehood. Tellingly, this relationship begins with G-d's command (obeying G-d'…
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Much of Parshat Breisheet details the moral failings of many of the individuals whom we meet: Adam and Chava, Kayin, Lemech. These early failures…
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"And Joseph could not restrain himself" (45:1). After 22 years, Joseph and his brothers were to be reunited. In probably the most emotional…
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One of the messages I try to hammer home to my students is that everything in the Torah can be understood as editorial comments on current events.…
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"Vayigdal Haish, and the man grew up and grew more and more, until he became very big" (Breisheet 26:13). At first glance, this is…
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“And Yitzchak brought her to the tent of his mother; and he took Rivka, and she was for him a wife, and he loved her; and Yitzchak was consoled…
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It is a truism that two people can look at the same thing, yet see something quite different. One person might see a beautiful piece of art, whereas…