It is hard to imagine a more disparate couple than Yitzchak and Rivka, the quiet contemplative husband who would "meditate in the fields" (…
"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…
“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…
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…
Perhaps no Biblical story fascinates us like that of Yosef and his brothers. Its twists and turns are full of drama, intrigue, tragedy, violence,…
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…
"And Lemech called him Noach saying, this one will bring us relief, yenachmeinu, from our work and the anguish of our hands, from the…
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.…
“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…
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…
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…
"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…
“And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and…
"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…
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…
“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘Yitzchak our forefather was barren, as it is written ‘and Isaac entreated the Lord lenochach, alongside,…
"And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah" (Breisheet 25:1). The Torah follows by listing the six children they had…
The Divine choosing of Avraham marks the beginning of Jewish peoplehood. Tellingly, this relationship begins with G-d's command (obeying G-d'…
Much of Parshat Breisheet details the moral failings of many of the individuals whom we meet: Adam and Chava, Kayin, Lemech. These early failures…
"And Joseph could not restrain himself" (45:1). After 22 years, Joseph and his brothers were to be reunited. In probably the most emotional…
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.…
"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…
“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…
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…