"In the midst of the day, b'etzem, Noach came, and Cham and Yefet, the children of Noach, and the wife of Noach, and three wives of his…
The story of Yosef begins, “and Jacob dwelled (vayeshev) in the land of his fathers, in the land of Canaan”. As the story of Joseph reaches its…
"And Yehuda saw her [his daughter-in-law Tamar], and he thought she was a harlot, because her face was covered" (38:15). Presumably, covering one's…
Avraham Avinu is known as "ha'Ivri" as the world was on one side, and he was alone on the other. It is not easy challenging the ideas of society…
Yaakov is fleeing his home, afraid that his brother will try to kill him. Night is coming, and presumably he has been running all day. He is tired…
How sad when parents do not understand their children, and are unaware of what they’re up to. Either through purposeful ignorance or just plain being…
“And G-d said: Am I going to hide from Abraham that which I will do?” The city of Sedom was a thriving metropolis and the home of Lot, Abraham’s…
The creation narrative has the world in beautiful harmony. Heaven and earth, sky and water, sun and moon, man and woman and in the view of our sages…
This week's dvar torah is being sponsored by Nolene and David Maresky and family in memory of Rina and Shim Maresky, and Jack Epstein z"l.…
“He kissed all his brothers and wept on their shoulders, and afterwards his brothers spoke with him” (45:14). What a change from twenty-two…
It is for good reason that co-wives are described as tzarot, literally, problems. Competing as they inevitably must for the same man, their…
Our Sages assert that the Torah pre-dates the creation of the world, in essence serving as the architectural blueprint of creation. This is a…
“And Terach’s years were 205 years, and Terach died in Charan. G-d said to Abram, Go away from your land, your birthplace and from…
“Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation” (6:9). It is hard to imagine a greater endorsement than that which the Torah gives to Noach.…
"If you really want to do me a kindness... act towards me with truth and kindness and do not bury me in Egypt" (47:29). So begins Yaakov's…
Judaism and modern western thought both teach the supremacy of man's freedom of choice. For modern man, freedom is rooted in the notion of…
After twenty-two difficult years, Yaakov was informed that his beloved son Yosef was the Viceroy of Egypt. Overcome with joy and disbelief, Yaakov…
Yaakov Avinu was on the run. Forced to leave home after "stealing" the birthright from his brother, he was attempting to stay one step ahead of Eisav…
There is no greater challenge than that of raising refined children. It is a task with so many variables and fraught with such difficulty that many a…
Our patriarchs and matriarchs did not have easy lives. Each faced problems of famine, of wandering from place to place, of foreign rulers, and of…
"G-d said to Abraham, ‘Go away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you…
Names play a significant role in Jewish thought. A cursory glance at the names given to the twelve tribes signifies the importance of each name.…
It is quite evident that Yitzchak and Rivka had differences of opinion regarding the difficult task of raising their twin boys. Their contradictory…
Judaism eschews extremism. This obligation to be moderate is codified into law by no less an authority than the Rambam; it is, as he points out, "the…